


Dreaming In Blue

by Lina99



Category: Attack on Titan, Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan, 進撃の巨人 | Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan (Movies)
Genre: Action/Adventure, Endless Ocean, Endless Ocean Games, Eventual Romance, F/M, Levi is an ass, Mystery, Ocean, Romance, SO MUCH TEASING, Scuba Diving, Teasing, but secretly a softy, it's so neat
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-01
Updated: 2019-07-23
Packaged: 2019-12-30 09:37:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 27
Words: 85,343
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18312992
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lina99/pseuds/Lina99
Summary: The Pacifica Treasure lies deep within the ocean, it can be found through solving the riddle of the Song of Dragons. You are set on finding this treasure and join the S&A Diving Service, along with Erwin Smith and Levi Ackerman you start on your  journey to find the Pacifica Treasure. Along the way you meet new people and keep discovering more things that lead to solving this puzzle, and of course, romance also blooms.





	1. Chapter 1

The Pacifica Treasure, an enormous solid golden statue of an Okeanide Queen. Long ago in Egypt the statue was created by Okeanides as a tribute to their queen. When the children of Set destroyed their lands the Okeanides kept their treasure safe in a tomb so that the aggressive destroyers wouldn't steal it. The Cavern of the Gods is where it's hidden, but the tomb hasn't been found till this day, they said it sunk into the ocean and disappeared without a trace.

The Song of Dragons, a repeating pattern of five notes that is usually sung in enclosed places where it can reverberate, such as ruins, caves and even the inside of an iceberg. The song is said to bring misfortune on anyone who hears it, but on the other hand anyone who solves the riddle of the Song of Dragons gets rewarded. This reward is supposedly the Pacifica Treasure, which is tightly intertwined with the lore of the Song of Dragons.

* * *

In college you studied folklore and came across the 'Song of Dragons'. After you looked into if for more information you were intrigued, the sudden need of wanting to know what it was all about was overwhelming. And the thought of finding the Pacifica Treasure was like a dream, if something like that was real and could be found you were the one who was going to do it. Even though the Cavern of the Gods where the Pacifica Treasure should be lying was underwater, you didn't have a lot of experience in scuba diving. By chance you found the S&A Diving Service, a small diving service located on an island close to Australia. After some contact through email with the owner you were happily hired to work there. The owner, Erwin Smith, said his partner in the diving service would gladly help you learn how to properly dive and how to use all the equipment. 

Today you were meeting Erwin on a small harbor in East-Australia. You had probably checked if you were at the right location a hundred times and made sure you were on time just as many times. The boats in the harbor peacefully floated on the clear blue water and you inhaled and exhaled the salty air of the ocean to calm yourself down. With your eyes closed you could faintly hear the sound of an engine, you opened your eyes and turned your head into the direction of where the sound came from. A small powerboat was heading towards the tiny harbor you were waiting at with your suitcase and bag. The people who had walked past you wondered why you were standing on the harbor with your suitcase and bag, it's not like there were visitors often in this area.

The powerboat stopped exactly in front of where you were waiting and when the engine was turned off a handsome blonde man stepped out of the tiny space where the helm of the boat was placed in. He greeted you with a warm smile and you returned the gesture. While shakings hand you were having a hard time focusing on anything else than his eyebrows but you managed to pull your gaze away from them once he started talking to you.

"So, you are (First) (Last), the new asset to our team!"  

"That's me, I hope I can be of any use to the service since I'm not the most experienced diver out there though..." Your confidence was already starting to drop.

"We've talked about this over email, my colleague will teach you everything you need to know about scuba diving. Let me get your bags for you and we can head out." Erwin smiled and you let him carry your suitcase over to the boat while you stepped in after him. It was a small boat but it could still hold around six people until it would get too crowded.

"So," Erwins started as he steered the boat into the right direction out of the harbor "I know you said you wanted to join a diving service for some reasons, is there perhaps something you're looking for?" He said as he kept his eyes on the calm waters.

"How did you know?" His sudden question made you frown a little.

"Well, (First), our diving service is looking for something too. And there are a few things we're investigating at the moment so it could be that we're looking for the same thing." Erwin said.

"I studied folklore at college and got intrigued by the story about the Song of Dragons." You told him.

"Ah, the Pacifica Treasure. A great dream of many divers, our diving service happens to have a couple of personal ties to it. It's our main investigation at the moment." 

"Do you think we can find it?" That question might have sounded a bit too enthusiastic but Erwin chuckled at you and remained silent for a couple of seconds.

"I think we can, especially now that our team just got expanded." 

* * *

"This is Maria island, it will be your new home for the next couple of months." Erwin said as he grabbed your suitcase from the boat and placed it on the pale wood of the tiny harbor the island had. 

The island wasn't much, but it had a big cabin that a lot of people could live in from what you could see. Just as you exited the tiny harbor there stood a table on the sand, when you curiously looked at the stuff displayed on the table Erwin came up to you.

"This is where we keep our diving logs and the radio to contact our friends and the mainland, other than that we have kept a record of all the species of marine animals we've encountered." He said proudly.

"That's so cool, I can't wait to start diving." You beamed in excitement. The blonde man next to you chuckled at you and asked you to come with him so that he could show you the cabin you'd be staying in with them. 

When you entered the white wooden [cabin](https://captainjackswharf.files.wordpress.com/2012/01/sunset2.jpg?w=500&h=333)it looked exactly like you were on vacation, it almost looked too good to be true. The living room was cozy and not too spacious but Erwin said that the number of bed and bathrooms made up for it. You were more than thrilled to hear that you'd get an own bathroom. The [bedroom](https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/77/4a/9d/774a9db43daf47c27d261736ee97bff0.jpg)you got was gorgeous and you thanked Erwin again and again for the amazing place to stay, he told you you could settle in for a bit and if you were done you could come and meet his colleague who would teach you how to dive. It was early in the afternoon and the blonde man had told you that you and his colleague might have time to start your first lesson today already.

The clothing you brought was put in some cabinets that were placed in the room and you plopped down on your bed to enjoy the view your room offered you for a moment. This whole thing you were getting started on sure was quite scary, and to be honest you may have applied for the diving service on a whim but now that you were here you were certain that you wanted this. The blue waters called out to you like you were always meant to go there. Deciding that you shouldn't waste time you went to find Erwin and his colleague on the small island. When you stepped out of the cabin you looked around for a bit and saw the blonde man standing next to a palm tree far on your left, it seemed that he was looking at the ocean. Frowning a little you started to approach him but only then you saw what he was looking at. A man with raven hair stuck his head just above the surface of the water and in front of him was a [Short-beaked Common dolphin](http://elelur.com/data_images/mammals/common-dolphin/common-dolphin-08.jpg)sticking its head out of the water just like he did.

You widened your eyes at the scene in front of you, you had never seen humans interact with dolphins in this kind of way out of shows in aquariums. The creature nudged the man in front of it and you couldn't quite understand what he said but it sounded like some sort of scoff. The stranger shook his head to get his wet hair out of his face and he petted the dolphin with a pale hand, after that he made a gesture to shoo the animal off and it gave the man a happy nudge before doing so. 

"Levi, come meet the new team member!" Erwin called over to the man in the water. Since he was quite far away you couldn't really make out his features yet but it seemed like he looked at you for a moment. The man swam back to the shore and climbed out of the salty ocean water, his wetsuit dripped and he shook his head again to get rid of the water as much as possible. Now that you saw him out of the water, he appeared shorter than you originally thought. When the short man stopped in front of Erwin and you, you could take his appearance in, he was strikingly handsome and he slicked his wet hair back with one of his hands. 

"Levi, I would like you to meet (First), she will be joining us." His stern grey eyes fell on your form and you were quite scared that he'd judge you. He didn't look all too happy after all. 

"Tch, so this is the brat I'll have to teach how to dive properly? I wonder if even I'll succeed in doing that." Levi asked Erwin, completely ignoring you as it seemed.

"It's nice to meet you too." Levi's narrowed eyes widened for a second but he returned to his former stoic gaze quickly. (Eye Color) irises met pale grey ones and the man in front of you wondered why you were smiling at him. Most new members Erwin brought in would have changed their minds already and were headed back to the mainland in no time. As much as Levi would never admit it, he liked to test the new ones if they could put up with a little of his attitude. The former professors or other marine life geeks that came across S&A diving service were easily scared by him but you seemed to have no trouble with him so far. 

"Sure, you heard it. The name's Levi." You only smiled at the stoic man in front of you, he was already getting on your nerves but of course you'd never let that show. The only hope you had was that you'd get used to him eventually or he'd warm up to you somehow, you just had to wait and see.

"I see you passed Levi's little first test." Erwin commented, you raised a questioning brow at him. "He likes to scare off our new recruits," the tall man leaned in to whisper in your ear "don't buy it though, he's an actual softy at heart." That made you chuckle and you nodded at him, then you returned your gaze to Levi.

"Did you train that dolphin?" Deciding to make a little small talk you asked about the scene you witnessed earlier, you were quite interested in the story behind it actually.

"Oh, that brat? No idea, she just likes to hang around Maria island and she listens to me. Sometimes she even follows the boat to the Gatama Atoll near the island where we often dive, she's a real pain but sometimes comes in handy I guess." The raven haired man crossed his arms as he looked at the ocean where you could see the dolphin swimming when it's fin would stick above the surface of the water.

"That's cute, does she have a name?" You questioned and held your hand behind your back as you kept watching the sea.

"Dunno, I just always call her brat. If you come up with something that isn't shitty you should tell me and I might consider it." 

"You're just hilarious!" You laughed at him, another thing that made him furrow his brows at you.

"Sure, whatever. Get suited up, we're headed to the Gatama Atoll, Erwin." The raven haired man turned around to leave you and the blonde next to you and you turned towards the man.

"He's quite the individual, calling his dolphin brat." A chuckle left both of your mouths at this.

"Levi will never admit it but he loves that dolphin to death, he isn't as bad as you might think at first. It just takes him a while to get accustomed to new people. We have different kinds of new wetsuits in the trunk next to the front door of the cabin, I'm sure there's one in your size. Meet us on the harbor when you're done." Erwin smiled.

"This is all way too good for me, thank you." In disbelief you shook your head and went over to the trunk to pick a wetsuit that would be the right size for you.

When you had headed back into the cabin and changed into the (Favorite Color) wetsuit, you headed back out and saw Erwin and Levi waiting on the harbor next to the tiny powerboat. You were ready for your first adventure.

* * *

With your hands clasped together you sat in the small powerboat, excited but anxious for your first diving lesson. It wasn't like it was your first time diving, but it was still different. This seemed so much more professional. As you fidgeted you tried to reassure yourself that everything would be okay and that these two men were both very experienced divers so that nothing bad could happen to you. After a while it was Erwin who broke the silence in the boat to inform Levi about your motives.

"(First) is here because of the Pacifica Treasure Levi." He said loudly to overpower the noise that the boat made.

"You are?" The male across from you leaned with one arm over the railing of the boat and looked right at you, he had a serious look on his face. You nodded.

"I studied folkore in college and that's how I found out about the Song of Dragons. Erwin said the S&A diving service has some personal ties to it?" He heard you question.

"Yeah, I do."

"Really?" The passionate gleam in your eyes surprised Levi but he was glad someone was almost as spirited about the subject as himself. 

"My uncle researched everything he could about the Pacifica Treasure, and he was pretty damn close to finding out the truth too. But then he got in an accident with this submarine called the HD-9 when he was doing research in the Zahhab Region Depths, it's this huge abyss in the Red Sea. The engines failed and the air went out, when a rescue team went down to the wreckage no one was inside. They say he escaped and died because of the immense pressure and lack of oxygen, we never heard anything from or about him ever since. He left me this weird ass necklace," Levi said when he held up a chord around his neck with a peculiar blue thing hanging from it "said it had something to do with the Song of Dragons so I kept it." 

A short silence followed. Levi talked about something so heavy like it was nothing, maybe it was a little while ago but it must have been really hard for him.

"What was his name?"

"Kenny."

"I'm sorry for your loss." You looked him in the eyes with a sympathetic look on your face.

"Yeah, it's whatever," he turned away from you "Erwin are we there yet?" 

"Arriving in a minute or so." Erwin answered as he kept his eyes on the sea.

"Right, you know how to gear up?" Levi asked.

"More or less." 

"Good."

When Erwin had halted the boat and let down the anchor Levi was long done with his equipment while you were still struggling with a few straps here and there. You could just feel him judging you from where he sat in the boat. When you were really at loss from what you had to do you had asked him to help you with a few thing that he reluctantly explained but you made sure you wouldn't forget afterwards. Putting on your flippers and adjusting your mask and oxygen tank you and Levi were good to go. 

"I'll be in contact with you two over the radio, it's how we can all communicate." The blonde said as you and Levi were about to jump in.

"Sounds good to me captain!" You gave him a thumbs up and heard Levi jump into the water, you had seen divers enter the water quite differently on tv shows with this whole rolling backwards off the boat thing. Turns out that that wasn't necessary. The backwards roll couldn't be performed on this boat since it was too high from the water line. The impact was harder when you just jumped in like that but the equipment you carried wasn't fragile so you didn't have to worry about breaking things either. 

It took you a while before all the tiny air bubbles disappeared in front of your mask but what you saw afterwards made your heart leap.

* * *

 


	2. Chapter 2

If there was a place where you could see more colors than the rainbow held, it would he here. The place where you dove into the water was called The Atoll Gate, a paradise for small tropical fish. You had already spotted a [Blue Tang](https://img.purch.com/h/1000/aHR0cDovL3d3dy5saXZlc2NpZW5jZS5jb20vaW1hZ2VzL2kvMDAwLzA4NC82MzMvb3JpZ2luYWwvcmVnYWwtYmx1ZS10YW5nLmpwZw==)and an [Anemonefish](http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2014/09/18/1410995765751_wps_16_NEW_YORK_JUNE_25_A_Clownf.jpg), but you saw so many creatures that you would hardly recognize half of them. A sudden cracking white noise in your ear interrupted your captivated state and then you heard Erwin's voice.

_"Testing the radio. Levi, (First), can you hear me?"_

"Loud and clear." Was what you answered, it was a little getting used to to talk while breathing through your equipment but it proved to be easy.

"I hear you." Levi's voice followed yours and you heard him through your earpiece too. You were quite surprised that this technology worked so well and that a small company like S&A diving service was able to get their hands on it. But since you didn't know much about diving in the first place you had no idea if it was expensive or rare.

A sudden sensation at your arm startled you and you turned your head, only to find out that it was Levi who tapped your upper arm to get your attention. His dark hair floated gently in the water and his pale grey eyes were as sharp as ever, even when you saw them through his diving glasses.

"This is The Atoll Gate. As you can see there's only one way out and that'll lead us directly into the Gatama Atoll. This is usually the place where we dive in to make sure our shitty equipment has zero defects." He told you.

"Everything's all good over here!" You said and stuck two thumbs up to him. From the earpiece, you wore you could faintly hear him make a 'tch' sound as he swam away from you.

Levi was already making his way towards the Atoll Gate but you couldn't help but observe the fish and coral that you saw. It was so beautiful that you were still somewhat convinced that you were dreaming. So of course, Levi's voice that suddenly sounded through the earpiece startled you as you looked at a [Black False Clownfish](https://sep.yimg.com/ay/yhst-33477391359232/black-white-ocellaris-clown-fish-amphiprion-ocellaris-black-white-clown-anemonefish-black-white-percula-clownfish-6.jpg).

"Get your ass moving, we don't have all day." 

Without words, you obliged and swam Levi's way as he floated around near the Atoll Gate. The water was clear yet still murky enough that you couldn't see far into the distance. When you were finally next to Levi again the first scolding began.

"You're swimming inefficiently as fuck. Stop moving your upper body so much, let the flippers do the work for you." The raven-haired man told you. In silence, you obliged even though you were tempted to throw a snarky remark his way. You thought it'd be better if you focused on learning how to dive properly, if you got the hang of that you could get on Levi's nerves any day even though you were convinced you already did somehow.

Passing through the Atoll Gate was like entering a new world once again. The first thing you saw were some lone rocks in the pale sand with dazzling coral on top of it. It was even more impressive than what you had already seen at the Atoll Gate. Two [Manta Rays](http://divetrip.com/photos/mantabay6.jpg)slowly swam in big circles above the coral, other tiny glittering fish accompanied them or francticly swam all over the place. Once you swam farther ahead, passing the two Manta Rays on your way along with Levi, you could see a cylinder looking rock reaching far above the surface of the water. Around the high rock, you saw numerous dolphins playing around. All short-beaked common dolphins like the one that hung around Maria island, or should you say 'brat'?

 _"Where are the two of you now?"_ Erwin's voice sounded through the radio connection.

"Dolphin Island, where the brat's family hangs. It shouldn't be long before she shows up." Levi sighed and swam a bit in front of you. 

And as if the creature had heard Levi talk about it, a familiar dolphin excitedly swam up to Levi and nudged him from all sides. 

"Tch! Fucking- fuck off." Levi said to the animal, he probably forgot you all could hear him. And even though he insulted the dolphin, his words lacked real hostility.

He could hear you giggling through his own earpiece and immediately turned his head to shoot you a glare. When your giggles had died down the animal that had been entertained by Levi seemed to notice his companion in the water. Curiously it swam up to you and circled you a few times. Not really knowing what to do, you remained still. Truth be told, you were quite nervous, what if she didn't like you? But those worries soon faded away when the dolphin nudged you with its snout. It made happy squeaky noises and you reached your hand out for it which it joyfully bumped with its beak.

"Seems like the brat likes you." The bored voice of Levi sounded.

 _"It seems like you're befriending our dolphin companion from what I'm hearing."_ The blonde spoke through the radio.

"I mean, I guess." You didn't really process what you were saying in the microphone, you were way too engrossed with what was happening. No way had you ever dreamt of a thing like this happening.

"We should continue, we'll head west next." The stoic diver ordered to draw your attention away from the dolphin. When you nodded at him in agreement you followed him, when you noticed something in the corner of your eye you saw the bubbly dolphin following the two of you. It made you smile unconsciously.

After passing more coral filled rocks or pearly white plains of sand you could see something else appearing in your field of vision. And just when you thought the Gatama Atoll had surprised you with everything you had seen so far, it proved you wrong. A bunch of perfectly shaped circular stones were present on the sand, it was almost like someone had put them there. They looked too perfect to be natural, but they were. Even the surface of the stones was flat without a single bump in them, tiny fish swarmed around them that held bright colors. But maybe the most beautiful thing about this place you saw in front of you were the bigger creatures that swam there.

"Are those manatees?!" A surprised tone laced through your voice.

"[West Indian Manatees](http://kids.nationalgeographic.com/content/dam/kids/photos/animals/Mammals/Q-Z/west-indian-manatee-two.ngsversion.1397154325004.adapt.945.1.jpg)to be exact. They live around the place, this is called the Doughnut Reef by the way. When the tide is low the stones can be seen above the surface of the water." Levi explained with an uninterested tone in his voice like always.

"Seriously who made up these names, these stones don't even have holes in them like  _actual_ donuts."

"Shut up, let's move on."

"Okay sorry I get it fine." The little exchange made Erwin laugh while he sat on the powerboat. He already knew the two of you would get along just fine.

"Follow me brat, next up we'll visit the Spring Garden. You'll like the surprise." Levi said. It surprised you already that he figured something like that about you. You made a mental note that you had made some progress in your friendship with Levi already and it made you smile that you were getting along with him better.

On your way to the 'Spring Garden' as Levi called it, you passed a steep rock formation where. [California Sea Lions](https://ssl.c.photoshelter.com/img-get/I0000AE56s2fbZ.w/s/880/880/sea-lion-california-photo-014935.jpg)happily swam around. It fascinated you that so many different creatures could live in one area. Sometimes you were so distracted by the beauty of te area you swam in that you almost forgot to keep up with your companion, it would take you some intense swimming to catch up with Levi after those moments. Suddenly Levi stopped you when you saw him outstretch an arm, the two of you had spoken of a few gestures that you'd use underwater if sudden situations popped up or if the radio broke.

"What's wrong?" A slight quiver in your voice, your anxiety level suddenly rose rapidly since you didn't know much about what could happen in the Gatama Atoll yet. Who knows what was going on. 

"We have company."

 _"What is it Levi?"_  Erwin sounded from the radio, his voice had gotten more serious.

"Don't worry, nothing major. We just suddenly ran into a good friend of yours." You could basically hear the smirk in Levi's voice. To find out what he was talking about you franticly whipped your hear from side to side to see what was going on. And then you saw it.

From you and Levi's left a giant creature approached. A [Whale Shark](https://www.chabilmarvillas.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/75993_990x742-cb1391027859.jpg)that was about seven meters long slowly moved its tail to advance. From the little research you had done on marine life, which consisted out of watching documentaries, you knew whale sharks weren't harmful creatures. They were one of the biggest gentle giants on the planet. However, seeing one up close did make your heart beat a little faster. This whole day had been a long one to begin with. And now you were seeing a whale shark that leisurely swam past you.

 _"Is it Bob?!"_ Erwin's sudden excited yell from your earpiece made you cringe.

"Bob?" You questioned.

"He named the whale shark Bob..." Levi sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose over his diving goggles while you laughed. He was one to talk when he called the dolphin, who was still following the two of you around, brat. 

"Well he's cute." Was the only thing you said.

"He is kind of small actually, whale sharks can grow over fifteen meters long. So, Bob is quite...cute I guess." When he said the word 'cute' it sounded like Levi was uttering something disgusting. This whole situation reminded you of how these two men were quite the dorks. 

"Well, we don't have time to hang around. Let's get going before we run out of shitty oxygen." Levi scoffed.

 _"Please tell me what you thought of Bob later, (First)."_ The blonde captain pleaded. It made you chuckle, he seemed to care about the creature a lot.

"Will do." Was what you said before following Levi to your next destination. Although the encounter interrupted your journey, you were glad it did. Not everyone had the chance to come across such a being in their lives. You counted yourself to be one lucky bastard.

At last you arrived at another peculiar place. Small rock spirals covered in fan coral protruded from the floor. The massive structure covered a large area and once again you were struck by natures wonders. Levi swam up to you and came close, you wondered why he did so. You heard him sigh in his microphone for the hundredth time today and he grabbed your head gently with his hands, careful not to mess with the oxygen mask you wore.

"Surprise." Was all he said when he turned your head far to the right. 

Amongst the spiral rocks, you saw two magnificent [Humpback Whales](https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/originals/6b/73/39/6b7339e003f7e919b459a14287a90648.jpg). A mother and her calf. They swam peacefully in the clear water, minding their own business. The young calf swam around adventurously and the dolphin that accompanied Levi and you excitedly approached it and made a happy clicking sound. The mother didn't seem to mind although you had read somewhere that mother humpbacks can become agressive when they have a calf to take care of sometimes. But when you thought about it that only made sense. The humpbacks made a beautiful sound, in another documentary you had seen they called it their 'whale song'. It must have been where the name 'The Song of Dragons' came from.

"Oh my God." Was all you could say at the gorgeous sight. This was another unique thing you had seen today. It was something that many people dreamed of seeing, and you were witnessing it with your very own eyes. Turning back to Levi you asked him a burning question.

"Do they come here often?" It was quite obvious you didn't want this to be the only time you saw the pair.

"They've been around for a short while. The Gatama Atoll is well liked by humpback whales, so yeah, they do visit from time to time. And they say sometimes someone else does too." His last sentence sounded quite eerie, who was that 'someone else'?

"S-Someone else?" You gulped.

"Erwin, would you care to enlighten our newest team member? I've done enough shitty explanations for the day, I sound like fucking wikipedia already." A deep chuckle was heard from your earpiece and you already knew it was Erwin.

_"So this is only a legend, but some say it's true. According to Sina legend a jet-black humpback whale called the[Black Harbinger](http://mymodernmet.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/humpback-whale-underwater-photography-giants-series-jem-cresswell-4.jpg)sometimes visits the Gatama Atoll even though it is often 'spotted' near the Solomon Islands. They say it's a whale spirit that presides over death and the afterlife. It is a contrast to the legend of the White Mother, a stark white humpback whale that they say grants life. They say it is at least one hundred years old, all fishermen in the area and on the Solomon Islands know about it. It is a great ruler of the seas over there. Where legends of the White Mother are positive, legends about the Black Harbinger are usually negative. His song is said to be heartbreakingly sad and is believed to be a requiem guiding the souls of the dead. Because of this, local fishermen will burn their fishing tackle if they meet him while at sea, in an attempt to ward off the fate of being led to the land of the dead. It visits the Gatama Atoll every few years like I said before, but no one really knows why."_

The story seemed impressive, yet it sounded way too legend-like, right? And you had never heard anything about a fully black or white humpback whale, not that you had done further research into ocean legends. 

"Have you ever seen it?" Was what you asked to get more information about the creature.

"No." Levi answered.

"Then, do you believe it?" Was your next question. It remained silent for a while and you realized you had made a horrible mistake. When you turned to Levi you were sure his glare would kill you.

"I'm sorry I didn't mean to disre-"

"Shut up. If you dare disrespect the ocean one more time then you can count on the fact you're gonna fucking die down here. Get that through your thick skull, we're returning to the boat." Levi's words left you to cower in fear, you didn't say anything to him anymore. He began to swim away, ignoring the two stunning whales nearby. But as he swam you noticed something falling that he had kept with him.

"Levi, your necklace-" But before you could finish your sentence an odd sound filled your ears. Did it come from the pendant?

"(First) watch out!!" Levi said, and when you turned to your left you could see the mother whale charging at you. There was no mistaking it, it headed your way.

Without thinking you made a roll to the side you didn't know you could pull off at the last second, the whale missed you and seemed to calm down. The calf rejoined its mother and they both continued on their merry way through the Gatama Atoll.

"What the fuck just happened..." Was all you could utter. Your body was shaky and the adrenaline still pumped through your veins. 

In the meantime Levi had retrieved his pendant from the ocean floor and looked at it with a determined glint in his eyes. When you turned his way, you realized he didn't pay attention to what you had said, until he locked his grey eyes with your (Eye Color) ones. 

"This is what Kenny meant, this  _does_ have to do with the Song of Dragons."

* * *

 


	3. Chapter 3

The ocean colored orange, yellow and pink. The sun was just setting and slowly made its way to dissapear behind the horizon. On Maria Island the evenings were much more pleasant than you could have ever imagined, the air was quite chilly though. Now you sat at a small table on the island together with Erwin and Levi, the three of you had decided to discuss what had happened earlier in the Gatama Atoll. As you leaned back on the wooden chair you snuggled yourself more into your big sweater.

"So, tell me again what exactly happened out there?" Erwin cleared his throat and shifted in his seat.

Levi and you exchanged brief eye contact and the raven-haired diver grabbed his cup of tea that he had made earlier to take a sip. You thought of it to be a signal for you to start talking.

"When we arrived at the Spring Garden and saw the humpback whale mother and calf, Levi said we had to head back to the boat because we'd run out of oxygen. But when he started swimming away he apparently dropped his necklace. When it dropped, a weird sound came from the pendant and suddenly the humpback whale went berserk! I'm sure it was the sound that influenced it, but anyways that's what happened." Was what you explained to the blonde who frowned at the story being told. 

"I think the pendant is a part of something. Remember how I always thought the engravings in the first part were just some shitty inspirational words done by Kenny? Well I think it's part of a message." Levi said. This was definitely something you didn't know about. Engravings? Second part? Just how many more things did they know about the Song of Dragons?

"Uh guys, what is this all about?" You frowned and shifted your gaze from Erwin to Levi repeatedly.

"Kenny had given me another pendant before I got this one from him...but I lost it far to the North in the Gatama Atoll. In the Hole of Trost, to be exact." Levi sighed as he reluctantly told you about losing something important to him just like that. He pinched the bridge of his nose in annoyance and looked down at the table.

"Why did you never get it back?" You questioned.

"Tiger Sharks are often seen around the area and we don't want to take any risks now that I can't dive anymore." Erwin explained.

"You can't dive anymore? Okay guys, I know this is my first day here but you all should really be telling me everything right now." Seriousness dripped from the tone of your voice and the two men looked at each other before Erwin sighed in defeat.

"I don't like to talk about this so I won't go in much detail," The blonde man shifted in his seat again, clearly uncomfortable "I originally founded the S&A Diving Service with Kenny. The letters represent out last names, Smith and Ackerman. We were close and the company was quite successful, that was until Kenny got so infatuated by the Pacifica Treasure… but mostly the Song of Dragons. We had a heated argument one day, Kenny wanted to solve the mystery of the Song of Dragons but I wanted what was best for the company and it resulted into us drifting apart. Levi joined the company after his uncle had told him of it though, that was when we met. Not long after we picked the company up from where me and Kenny left off, we heard about the accident he had with his submarine. Short after I had an accident involving decompression sickness, also known as the Bends. I can try to dive but I would be risking my life greatly, and although there are methods to cure the Bends I don't have the money. But that's that, now you know." 

"I-I don't know what to say Erwin, I'm so sorry..." The optimistic mood that hung around the island had completely disappeared after Erwin's sad story. Not wanting to dwell on the subject that was the past, Levi decided to speak up.

"About the engravings. This is what's written on this piece, which is the first." Levi took his necklace off and gave it to you. When you examined it you noticed tiny letters carved into the deep blue lapis lazuli the pendant was made of.

_The road to the truth_

"It does look unfinished. You never thought of the two having a connection?" You said.

"I lost the second piece before Kenny had given me the first one. Plus, I wasn't as invested in the legend before his accident." Levi explained.

"So, what now?" 

"I'm getting the second piece, of course." The raven-haired male said as if it was obvious. And maybe it was.

"I don't think that's a good idea Levi." Erwin said, his sudden disdain for the idea confused you. Wasn't he was set on solving the mystery of the Song of Dragons as Levi?

"What the fuck do you mean by that Erwin?" Levi spat.

"It's still dangerous, knowing that the second piece of the pendant holds importance doesn't make the tiger sharks in the area disappear. And even though (First) has joined our team, she doesn't have experience around possibly aggressive creatures." The blonde said with a stern expression on his face.

"I was attacked by a whale, literally this afternoon." You narrowed your eyes at the blonde.

"That's a different story (First), sharks are faster and more unpredictable." He reasoned.

"I still think it's bullshit. You're not telling me what to do Erwin." The short man stood up from his seat at the wooden table on the bench and left for the cabin in the middle of the island.

"Levi-" 

"Don't try, when he's angry he needs to cool off for a while. He doesn't listen when he's blinded by his own rage." Erwin sighed as he looked at Levi's leaving form.

"Fine…" Even though you wanted to help the short diver it seemed like listening to Erwin was better for now. 

* * *

The soft sun crawling through your window awakened you in the morning. You rolled over in your comfortable bed to check the time. It was around seven in the morning and you sighed, somewhat disappointed that you didn't get to sleep in but excited that you had a whole day ahead of you. 

You got out of bed, took a shower and dressed at your own pace. It was wonderful waking up like this, thinking about it you might want to stay here forever instead of finishing college. When you had just finished eating breakfast in the kitched, Erwin stormed through the door and startled you.

"Oh my God, what the hell Erwin?!" You exclaimed, your heart still beating out of your chest.

"It's Levi!" The tall man said, fear evident in his deep blue eyes.

"What about him?" 

"He went to the Hole of Trost on his own. His jet ski is missing along with his diving gear. We need to get to him before something happens!" Erwin yelled, clearly stressed. 

It was too early for this. But seeing Erwin out of his calm and collected state did unsettle you enough to understand that this was a serious situation. Nodding at him you rushed to your room to change into your wetsuit. When all was done you and Erwin were on the powerboat, headed towards the North of the Gatama Atoll to find Levi. Both hoping that nothing had happened to him yet.

When Erwin halted the boat, you could see Levi's jet ski in the distance. The bastard had gone to the Hole of Trost after all. You were checking some last straps of your gear before you were ready to dive in as soon as possible. However, Erwin came up to you with something in his hands. You frowned at the object, it somewhat resembled a gun.

"This is a device called the Pulsar, it's a gun that fires electromagnetic pulses. It's often used to cure injured fish or to subdue dangerous ones. I hope you won't have to use it, but if you do be sure that you don't miss." The determined look in Erwin's eyes told you how serious he was about this whole situation. You had thought Levi was a man who could handle things himself pretty well, that had become clear to you at your first meeting with him. But seeing a man who had known him for a long while this worried about his wellbeing made you think twice about the matter.

"Thank you, Erwin. Anything else before I dive in?" Turning just as serious as the man in front of you, you looked him in the eyes.

"Yes, the boat can only go as far as the entrance to the Hole of Trost. You'll have to make your way through a thick forest of seaweed to get there called the Kelp Tunnel. Just make sure you don't accidently hurt yourself on the rocks next to you when you enter it, the kelp will make it hard to see for a while. But when you're through it'll be clear where the Hole of Trost is. In the meantime, I'll be there on the radio and will try to make contact with Levi. Good luck, (First)." Erwin nodded at you and put a trusting hand on your shoulder.

"I'll make sure to get to Levi." Was all you said before adjusting your diving mask. A final glance at the man left on the boat and you jumped into the water.

When all the air bubbles had cleared, you saw a small opening between two boulders. In between grew kelp that reached almost as high as the surface of the water. On your way to the entrance a few huge [Humphead Wrasses](https://aqua.org/~/media/Images/Animals/Humphead%20Wrasse/animals-humpheadwrasse-slide1-web.jpg)passed you as they patrolled the area. As much as you would have loved to inspect them, there were more important things on your mind right now.

Slowly you entered the passageway, the kelp brushing your limbs as you reached your arms around you to feel if rocks neared your form. Little did you know not many divers dared to take the risk to infiltrate the area that led to the Hole of Trost. You had no knowledge of the area and had no idea only a few would ever get to see the Hole of Trost, it seemed as if you couldn't think of anything else than to find Levi. It was naive to think that he was this invincible individual, he was a human being too. 

The sensation of a blunt object against your hand told you you had to turn away from it, as Erwin had said you couldn't see the walls. You wondered how far you would have to go to reach the Hole of Trost. Erwin hadn't said anything on the radio yet, he was probably busy reaching out to Levi. The only thing you could hear was your own heartbeat, your breathing through your diving equipment and the water rumbling around you. 

Something moved in front of your face although you couldn't focus on what it was. It wasn't part of the seaweed, but it was? Erwin didn't tell you anything about living kelp, no such thing existed. When you focused on what was in front of you, you saw it. A tiny [Leafy Seadragon](https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/d956fbb3f6cde24d1f057f04227a18b77d8ca57915778d4937d781adef55aef0.jpg)moved along the kelp. It had perfectly adapted itself to its surroundings and it almost looked invisible amongst the plants. Smiling at the beautiful creature you shook your head, you had other things to do than to stare at marine life all day.

At last your hands stopped feeling the edges of the rocks next to you and the kelp swept away in front of your face. It left you with a sight that took your breath away. A large sandy area surrounded a sudden opening in the bottom of the floor. It was a huge hole, you could already see that from your position. Other than that various fish swam around the area, you even saw a small [Ocean Sunfish](https://fthmb.tqn.com/492gcVlzpM7Zf-gVqF2fYG-tYrA=/768x0/filters:no_upscale\(\)/about/97388308-56a5f6d13df78cf7728abcd8.jpg)calmly swimming above the hole. Deciding this was the time to contact Erwin, you tried speaking into your microphone.

"Erwin, can you hear me? I've exited the Kelp Tunnel, I can't see Levi yet. What's next?" The seconds you waited for Erwin's voice in your earpiece felt like years. But the reassuring cracking noise of him accessing his microphone sounded at last.

_"(First), I hear you. Where you are now is the Coliseum, the area around the Hole of Trost. I suggest you carefully make your way to the Mouth of Truth, which is the opening to the Hole of Trost. Don't be surprised by how deep it is, it's a one-hundred-foot drop. Let's see if you can spot Levi there, and not something else if you're lucky."_

"Roger that, making my way to the opening." You said and moved your flippers to advance to the Mouth of Truth. The area suddenly lost its breathtaking vibe and was filled with an ominous feeling. You had the idea that this wasn't going to go well.

And when you hovered over the edge of the Mouth of Truth your grim expectations turned out to be true. Peering into the deep dark that was the Hole of Trost you could barely make out Levi's form. But what really made your blood run cold was the enormous [Tiger Shark](https://userscontent2.emaze.com/images/b1757406-dc9f-447d-bcd1-b9a3cebe3a1a/2f3b3939d4016916d27cf8e3fc289a7c.jpg)swimming in circles right in between you and Levi. Daring to show yourself more, you swam over so that the sun would fall onto your form and so that Levi would be able to see you against the sunlight.

The male seemed to notice you and you saw him make a gesture out of frustration. The next thing you could make out were his hands. To be exact, he held up both of his middle fingers to you. You only sighed and told yourself he'd be thanking you later, or so you hoped.

"Erwin I've located Levi, but like you said there's a tiger shark. I know they're not always aggressive and the media makes you believe they're dangerous which isn't entirely true, but this one seems erratic." A little rant from your side was put in that message, but you figured Erwin knew what you were talking about.

It took Erwin a while to reply, so you decided to wave over to Levi to catch his attention. He gestured something for you to stop, you didn't understand so made another hand gesture. The radio not being connected was really getting on both your nerves. Because what you didn't get was that Levi was trying to tell you not to make sudden movements. Unfortunately, you realized that too late. The tiger shark noticed your movements, it probably mistook you for something against the bright sunlight of the surface. Anyhow, it was heading your way. 

When you noticed the creature advancing your way, now was the time to act. The Pulsar was fastened on the side of one of the many belts that your equipment was made of. The stress of the current situation made you a mess. You couldn't get the Pulsar off your equipment, and the shark was still advancing. Noticing your quickened breathing Erwin was talking to you over the radio, but you had no time to reply to him. At last as you fumbled with the Pulsar you held it in your dominant hand and aimed it at the creature in front of you. It wouldn't kill it. It would only subdue it and calm it down. That thought didn't ease your mind, your hands were shaking as they held the device. When the creature was a mere few meters distanced from you, you heard a familiar voice return to your earpiece.

"Pull the trigger, you dumbass!" 

Apparently the insult snapped you out of your terrified state and you squeezed the trigger multiple times before you also tightly shut your eyes. Nothing happened, no impact, no horrible pain. Slowly cracking your eyes open you could see the tiger shark drowsily swimming past you. Then it slowly took off somewhere out of the Coliseum. Levi and you were safe.

"You dumbfuck! Why the hell are you here?!" Levi's yelling hurt your ear and you brought your hand to the side of your head as you cringed.

You turned your head into the direction of the raven-haired diver. Now seriously pissed off you swam his way. After what you had done for him he wasn't just going to act like he would have made it out of this situation just fine. Making sure you lowered yourself to his level safely you drifted in the water right in front of him.

"Listen here you jerk," in your frustration you jabbed a finger in his chest but he didn't react, he just dangerously glared into your (Eye Color) irises "do you think you would have gotten out of this situation unharmed? That this shark wouldn't have noticed you, or that it wouldn't have swam away before you ran out of oxygen? And what the hell were you thinking leaving on your own? Have you got any idea how worried Erwin was? Heck, I don't even know you but I was worried!"

 _"She is right, Levi."_  Erwin's, now calmer voice sounded through your earpiece.

"No. You listen here bitch," Levi started as he swam forward, forcing your hand away from him by harshly grabbing your wrist between his gloved fingers "I don't need to hear shit from a stupid brat I thought to dive only one fucking day ago. I made a decision, I don't regret it. I live with the consequences. Now, I'm getting my fucking pendant. Return to the boat if you plan on lecturing me, if not you're welcome to help me find it."

 _'You live with the consequences,'_ you thought with a frown on your face because of his heavy words _'if you survive them...'_

* * *


	4. Chapter 4

_"Everything all right, did no one get hurt?"_ Erwin's voice sounded. You still floated on your place in the water as you watched Levi descend into the depths of the Hole of Trost. 

"Y-Yeah, it's fine I'll help Levi find his pendant." 

Taking a deep breath you slowly made your way to the bottom of the hole. Levi was already searching around and pulled tiny rocks away or shoved plants to the side in order to find his lost pendant. Seeing his work as a good example of what you should be doing, you started to search for the lost item too. 

"It looks the same as the pendant you have now, right?" Cautiously you asked him a question, not sure if he would even reply in the first place.

"Obviously." Was all he said to you in that monotone voice of his. At that you sighed but continued to look around you. 

When you saw a small crack in the dark rocks you decided to take a closer look. There was no other space behind it but you could see a faint glimpse of blue. It had to be the second part of Levi's pendant. Carefully you stuck your hand through the rocks and felt around with your gloved hand. When you seemed to grab ahold of some sort of chord you pulled back. When you examined what you had found it turned out to be the item Levi had been looking for.

"I found it." You said, a little more joyful after the exchange you had with Levi just moments ago.

Without words Levi swam up to you and looked at te necklace you held. The only thing you heard was a small grunt through your earpiece before he snatched it out of your hand. Another sigh escaped your lips at his behavior.

"We're headed back to the boat Erwin." Levi finally said as he began to swim up to the surface.

"Thank you (First), oh sure no problem Levi!" You mimicked his voice and acted the exchange out that you would have wanted to happen. Levi however, only told you to 'shut the fuck' up in return.

* * *

"What were you thinking?!" Was the first thing Erwin said to the raven haired man.

"Dear God, calm yourself Erwin. I'm fine." The raven-haired man rolled his eyes and crossed his arms. You watched the two of them argue from where you sat in the back of the boat. Right now you weren't really excited to talk to either of them. Levi's words in the Hole of Trost had hurt you, pretty badly. At first it was easy to ignore his harsh way of speaking, but not until it was directed towards you. 

In all the background noise you could hear Erwin mention something about you saving Levi's life and that he should be thankful. You didn't really care about it anymore to be frank, you were just glad everyone was okay. And you also knew things would clear up between you and Levi but you just had to give it time, you had been here for just two days. Two days weren't enough to get to know everyone, especially not a guy like Levi who seemed very closed off to begin with. It would take some time but that was alright, you were used to that. While you had been lost in thought it seemed as Erwin had started the boat's engine and was ready to take off.

You stared into the distance and watched the waves clash against each other, you thought of the past. Of how your best friend used to be just like Levi before he and you became best buddies. Of course, there were all the jokes of classmates and parents or other friend that the two of you were dating. Such bullshit, why did people think it was impossible for a girl and boy to be best friends? When those comments would be made the two of you always laughed, thinking it would be ridiculous. The boy with the messy brown hair was like your brother, and you were like his sister. It didn't take long for you to become almost just as close with his adoptive sister. 

Eren Jaeger and Mikasa Ackerman. You wondered what they were up to at the moment, you had only texted them that you had arrived safely and that you would give them an update soon. The two of them had frowned at your sudden urge to take a break from college for just a myth, but they had supported you nevertheless. The siblings even gave you a ride to the airport and told you that you had to return soon, Eren said he couldn't possibly survive for a long time without you. It made you smile unconsciously. It was crazy how it had been just a few days but that you missed the two so much already. 

You didn't notice but Levi watched you when the sudden smile stretched across your lips. He frowned even more than his usual scowl. He would have thought you'd be angry with him, and now he saw you smiling. With a sigh he shook his head and fixed his gaze onto the ocean too, he needed to cool off from this morning. He knew he had lashed out to you, but he wasn't quite ready to apologize yet. 

* * *

After spending the day on Maria Island doing research about the area you were in and about more marine life the evening fell. You were currently sitting in one of the sun loungers that were set up on a corner of the island in the sand. With your knees pulled up to your chest you rested your chin on them and watched as the sun slowly but surely disappeared behind the horizon. You didn't realize someone had come your way until you heard the white sun lounger next to you creak. Turning your head you saw it was Levi. Deciding to let him speak first you turned back to face the ocean, you had nothing to say to him after all.

"So, I uhh... wanted to apologize." Levi said as he awkwardly cleared his throat and shifted into another sitting position.

"Really? What for?" You decided you could taunt him just a little after what he did.

"Fuck you." He sighed but didn't move away from his seat. It remained quiet for a while, only the waves hitting the shore could be heard.

"I didn't want you to put yourself in danger for me. I hate it when anyone does that, it gives me this feeling of responsibility or whatever. I don't know, just thought I'd tell you and stuff." His awkwardness while confessing his feelings made you smile while you still watched the ocean. In the corner of your eye you could see him glancing your way restlessly.

"It isn't that hard, is it?" Was what you said to him when you turned your head to look him in the eyes.

"Apologizing?" He questioned as he raised a brow. Levi now sat with an elbow propped up on one of his pulled up knees. 

"That, but I also feel like telling me why you got mad was more important." You said.

"How come?" The raven-haired diver asked.

"A friend thought me that if you really want to get to know someone, you have to figure out why they're angry or upset. It might sound strange but I feel like it's really true, in a way." Realizing your way of thinking might have been weird to him you huffed and turned your head away.

"That makes sense, I guess." Was all he said.

After the exchange both of you sat in silence until the sun had completely disappeared and the moon and stars had come out to illuminate the night sky. Realizing how cold it was you shivered and felt like it was time to return to the cabin. 

"I'm off so, goodnight Levi. And thank you." You said to him with a small smile as you stood up to leave.

"Oh uh, you can have my sweater if you're cold. It's no big deal." He offered.

"Thanks but I should really get to sleep, you should try that once." A small grin was now present on your face and you winked at him before leaving him alone on the beach. He sighed, knowing you referred to the huge bags under his eyes.

When Levi was sure you were out of reach to hear him he groaned and pinched the bridge of his nose like he always did when he was annoyed. This whole being kind act or apologizing really wasn't his cup of tea. He sighed once again and looked at the calm sea, perhaps he should follow your advice.

"I'm never listening to Erwin ever again. 'Try to be nice for once' my fucking ass, it doesn't even work anyways." The man slightly grinned and raked a hand through his hair before leaving for his room too.

* * *

Breakfast was delightful just like the day before. You had woken up around the same time as Erwin so the two of you had breakfast together and discussed some more about what would be happening that day. Surprisingly Erwin also asked you if Levi had apologized yet, you figured he was probably the one behind it. You told him all was well between the two of you now and the man sighed in relief at your answer. Just after that part of the conversation had ended the door opened and Levi came in.

"Morning Levi." You said.

"Good Morning Levi." Erwin followed.

"Sure, rise and shine, all that shit. Morning." At that the two of you laughed at his language, after last night you really just noticed that he was awkward with words.

"By the way, Levi did you connect the pendants yet?" You asked him.

"I cleaned the shitty thing this morning, they luckily fit together. Here." Levi fished the pendants out of his pocket and carefully placed it on the pale wooden table between you and Erwin, who sat across from you. The two pendants, now joined together, formed a new sentence:

_The road to the truth is the Song of Dragons_

"I don't understand it." You said after a couple moments of silence.

"Neither do I, that's why I called some friends over who will do the work for us." The raven-haired man said as he was making himself a cup of tea in the kitchen.

"Good work like always, Levi." Erwin smiled.

Just at that moment you heard the sound of a jet ski outside. It must be Levi's friends, although you hadn't expected them to be here so early. 

"Sounds like those two arrived." Erwin said as he got up from his seat to wash his hands in the kitchen. You followed and did the same. 

"Hey Levi, who are these friends of yours?" You asked him. He leaned against the counter and sipped his tea.

"They'll introduce themselves in a moment," the man sighed and gestured you to follow him outside "they know all about treasure, wreckages, mythology or legends involving the sea. They help us out quite often." Levi explained and when the two of you exited the cabin with Erwin following suit, you saw two people entering the island through the tiny harbor. Since Maria Island wasn't big, you could make out what they looked like pretty easily. A redheaded girl with pigtails and a tall young man with light hair. 

"Levi bro! Long time no see!" The girl grinned widely at Levi and you could hear him sigh next to you, he was probably used to her saying that and enveloping him in a bone crushing hug afterwards. 

When that had passed the other man greeted Levi and Erwin, and now it was time to introduce yourself. You desperately hoped you wouldn't screw it up and make it seem like you were an idiot. The unknown duo turned your way and you looked at your two colleagues with pleading eyes. Erwin got the hint or Levi just didn't wanna deal with you, but he stepped forward and gestured a hand their way.

"(First), this is Farlan and that is Isabel. They've helped us out many times before." He said, then gestured your way, "Farlan, Isabel, this is (First). She's our new colleague and is helping us out with solving the mystery of the Song of Dragons." The slight tinge of distaste in the tone of his voice didn't go unnoticed by you but you decided to brush it off.

"A new one! You never told us about her, Levi bro!" The redheaded girl called Isabel said and enthusiastically shook your hand in hers.

"Nice to meet you!" Farlan said and grinned at you as he also shook your hand.

"It's so great to meet you two! I didn't know S&A Diving Service had more members than this." You said as you glanced at Levi from the corner of your eye. He was just looking away from the entire exchange like it bored him to no end, it probably did.

"Oh we're not really members! We work on our own, visit divers or salvagers all over the place to appraise their items or to sell them the latest diving equipment. We could get you a discount, seeing as you're new." Isabel winked at you as she put her hands on her hips.

"Oh, that's cool though! Do you dive yourself?" You questioned.

"We used to, Levi and me were partners before he joined S&A Diving Service. Izzy joined us a little later than that, but we used to explore a lot of different areas together. But we're fine with what we do now." Farlan smiled as he looked at his former diving partner, you could see he was a little sad. They must have been close before Levi got so influenced by his uncle's passing.

"You guys sound amazing, you should join us here. Plus I'd much rather have another girl to chat to on the island here with me than these two old men." You joked and Isabel and Farlan started laughing. Erwin looked slightly offended at first but got that you were joking a few moments later, Levi could be heard making a 'tch' sounds like he always did.

"Oh, believe me (First) I would love to join you here. But I can't leave my dude hanging here, he'd die without me." She sighed dramatically as she slung an arm around your shoulder.

"Oh come on Izzy!" Farlan argued.

"Hush, you know it's true! So does Levi bro! Now, before we take a look at whatever you got for us I'm stealing your girl for a moment!" The enthusiastic girl yelled and you slightly cringed because of the close proximity. With that, she started leading you away from the group of men and sat down with you on a couple of chairs that stood by a small table further up the island.

"So, I see you have survived Levi bro's behavior for more than a minute. I respect that." She smirked.

"You seem to be friends with him. Now I respect  _that_." Isabel laughed at that.

"I like you already. But you know, I wanted to talk to you because I wanted to ask you a serious question." Her bright green eyes suddenly lost their joyful shimmer and turned cold, almost as cold as Levi's eyes could get.

"Are you only after the Pacifica Treasure?" She asked.

"Why are you-"

"Just answer the question." She said calmly.

"No, I got intrigued by the lore of the Song of Dragons and I joined S&A Diving Service because I wanted to know more about it and search for clues myself. I don't really have an interest in the treasure, I mean I  _do._  But not for money or shit like that you know. I'm just too curious for my own good sometimes, I want to know everything I guess." You answered truthfully. At that the girl visibly relaxed.

"Thank the lord. I thought you might could been one of these people who only cared about finding the treasure and getting famous and that bullshit. But if what you're saying is all true, I think you're a good person (First). I'll leave Levi bro in your hands." Isabel smiled widely at you. A little shaken up by her sudden change of persona back there you hesitantly smiled back.

"I'm pretty sure he can handle himself just fine." Even though you knew that wasn't all true you still said it to her, not really sure what she meant by 'leaving Levi to you'.

"Oh come on, I'm not an idiot. He's warmed up to you more than you think he has, I can see that from just a single glance. If you get to know him, he's really like an open book. But I guess we shouldn't keep the boys waiting, we'll talk about it later, don't worry! I can just see how lost you are at what I just said, sorry hahah!" The redheaded girl laughed and got up from her seat with you following her.

Like she said, she left you utterly confused. Shaking your head and deciding to just go with it, you followed her. The three guys already went inside the cabin from what you could see, plus you heard their voices come from within the building. Isabel opened the door before you went in and sat herself down on one of the chairs that stood around the large wooden table. You were the last to join them and Levi laid his pendants on the table, now joined together to reveal the sentence.

"So, what do we have here?" 

* * *


	5. Chapter 5

“It looks similar to traditional charms you see in East Asian countries, but the style isn’t associated with those cultures at all. It is extremely old, that makes it very odd that the engravings are in English.” Isabel held a finger to her chin as she looked at the two pendants.

“Yes, but it seems that the quote has been carved relatively recently as well. I’d say, maybe around sixteen years ago?” Farlan mentioned, closely observing the item as well.

“Make that fourteen. Kenny died fourteen years ago.” Isabel and Farlan nodded in understanding at Erwin’s words, they seem to know about that whole story already. You decided to remain silent and let them do their work.

“But, ‘The Road to the Truth is the Song of Dragons’ where have I heard it before?” Erwin said and sighed, digging deep into his memory to find where he had heard it before.

Farlan took a seat on one of the chairs that stood by the table and cleared his throat.

“The Road to the Truth is the Song of Dragons. The Cyclades suffer under the shroud of Poseidon’s curse. As the waves crash and the battle cry rises, Reiss Castle shall sink beneath the waters.”

“It’s from a mystical epic written by a nineteenth century Turkish poet. This verse talks about the sinking of Reiss Castle.” Isabel decided to give more context to the recited part if the poem from Farlan’s side.

“Yes, that’s where it’s from! Legend says it still lies somewhere in the Aegan Sea. The castle is said to have sunk to the bottom of the sea overnight. And it remains there to this day, undiscovered, along with all its treasures.”

It was silent in the room for a while. Levi folded his hands together in front of his face and leaned his chin on them. To you it looked like there was only one option. But you decided it wasn’t for you to butt in yet, you were still the new recruit after all.

“So, if Kenny left us this message, is he telling us to find Reiss Castle?” Levi said as he seriously looked around the room, waiting on what everyone else had to say. It took a while, so you decided this _was_ the right time to butt in.

“Then, let’s go!” A big smile painting your features. Everyone else in the room seemed slightly surprised at your sudden proposal, they didn’t think you’d be so enthusiastic or optimistic about the subject. Even Levi’s expressionless face seemed to change for a split second.

“I must say, I can’t agree more.” He finally said with the hint of a smirk on his face.

Erwin sighed, “I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t interested, and visiting the Aegan Sea would be beneficial for the business.”

“Then it’s settled,” Levi put both of his hands on the table as he stood up, his chair scraping against the wooden floor “thanks again, you two.” The raven-haired man said, looking at Farlan and Isabel as he did so.

“It’s no big deal Levi, you know that! And we’ll waive the appraisal fee for those pendants by the way, we’re friends after all! If you need any new equipment it’s a different story, of course.” The fair haired young man laughed and scratched the back of his head.

A few more words were exchanged and Isabel and Farlan left the cabin, you, Levi and Erwin followed them to say goodbye. The three of you stood on the wood of the tiny harbor and Farlan was already seated on his jet ski, Isabel was about to join him on the vehicle before Erwin asked her a question.

“By the way, how are things with the equipment I asked for some time ago?”

“Oh right, the underwater camera and the night diving gear.” She laughed nervously.

“You forgot, didn’t you? I thought you might have.” Levi crossed his arms.

“Me? Forget? Never! Look, I have it right here!” The redhead said as she handed Levi a camera she fished from her bag.

“I don’t mean to be rude,” you whispered over to Levi “but isn’t this quite an old model?”

“No, you’re right.” Levi said, clearly not planning to hide what the two of you were talking about, “It’s old as shit.”

You could see Farlan drop his head on the jet ski, he had given up. Isabel tried to laugh it off that she had completely forgotten about everything Erwin had asked her for. But her and Farlan must be busy.

“Uh, well…I…you see, I’ll give you a special discount! How about that?” She opened her arms in a gesture that made it seem like she had just given you one great deal instead of something that was supposed to be quite obvious. Once again you could hear Farlan sigh in the background.

“Sure.” Levi said.

“Oh, but the night time diving gear will take some time though.”

“If that’s the situation then I guess we’ll wait. Thank you for your hard work.” Erwin smiled at the duo despite everything that had just happened. Isabel got on the jet ski behind Farlan and he started the vehicle, saying a goodbye before taking off.

Erwin turned to face the two of you, crossing his arms with a rather serious look on his face. Levi copied him, turning his way and you figured out quick enough that this was the moment where you all would discuss everything about the journey to the Aegan Sea.

“We’ll be leaving soon, maybe in a day or two. It all depends on how fast I can get the tickets. It will be a long flight, all the way to Turkey. It will probably take us about an entire day before we arrive at the place where we need to be. I’ll take care of the tickets if you guys make sure to bring every piece of equipment and double check it. And enough clothes too, we don’t know how long we’ll stay there and we’ll probably sleep on the boat.” Erwin said.

“Sounds good to me.” Levi sighed and was ready to leave.

“Wow wait, we’re sleeping on the boat?” A frown present on your features, clearly not really fond of spending, possibly a lot of nights, on a tiny boat where you probably couldn’t be comfortable in any way.

“Yes, that is how we work most of the time. But that all depends on the place we are staying. It’s summer in Turkey right now, which means that it doesn’t get cold at night. And yes, also at sea the temperature is fine and we can pack enough food for many days. Just have a little faith in us.” Erwin said and a reassuring smile spread across his face.

“Right, sorry. I’ll get my stuff done.” You apologized and hurried to the cabin.

Once you were in your room you sat down on your soft bed and sighed deeply. You hadn’t been here for more than three days and you were already headed to Turkey! It was crazy. You thought you should let Eren and Mikasa know, they wanted to stay up to date anyways. After sending them a text you made sure to pack whatever Erwin told you to pack. Outside you checked your equipment, Levi seemed just as busy as you with the task. Erwin was browsing various websites to get you three tickets to Turkey as soon as possible, he didn’t seem to have succeeded yet when the evening fell.

You cooked pasta for dinner since in the short period of time that you were here, the guys had already altered their cooking schedule. And when you were just about to head to bed and went to the dining room to wish the guys goodnight, Erwin seemed to have succeeded.

“We fly tomorrow at seven in the morning.” The man seemed satisfied with himself for succeeding to book a ticket.

“There goes my sleeping schedule. How early do we have to leave the island?” You asked and sat down at the table next to Levi who sipped his tea.

“If we’re headed to the mainland at four everything should be fine.” Smith said.

“Oh my God.” You groaned and let your head fall on your arms that rested on the table.

“You’ll get used to it.” Levi said and stood up to wash his cup and head to bed afterwards.

“You will, now it should be wise for all of us to go to sleep.” Erwin said and also stood up to leave.

“Can’t wait to wake up in a few hours.” Was the last thing you said before entering your room and crashing down on your bed, hoping you’d fall asleep soon.

* * *

With a sigh you sat down on the plane seat, its comfort was debatable. Lucky for you, you sat by the window. A little unluckier was that you would have to sit next to Levi for more than twelve hours, you did feel bad for Erwin who had to sit alone for such a long time. But you also thought it was just another form of bonding with Levi from your perspective. Before the plane had even taken off he had already taken his headphones out of his hand luggage and put a movie on. Boring, you thought. Shrugging you decided to do the same.

When the movie you watched was over you decided to take out your laptop, they did announce that the plane had free Wi-Fi when you took off. And you decided you had more than enough time to do research about the area that you would be diving in soon. After you had finally connected to the Wi-Fi you clicked the first link you saw when you looked up ‘Ciceros Strait’. Next to you, Levi took off his headphones and stole a glance at your laptop. And you immediately took the chance to strike up a conversation with him.

“Hey Levi, wanna hear this amazing information about the Ciceros Strait?” You teased.

“No- “

“This channel runs between outlying islands of the Cyclades group in the Aegan Sea. Its varied terrain and shark-infested waters are popular with divers, and its sunken wrecks make it a popular destination for treasure-hunting salvagers.” After that short little description, you made a sarcastic ‘oooh’ sound to emphasize the mysteriousness of the place and Levi sighed.

“Danger and people interfering with our work, sounds like a blast.” Levi said in that monotone voice of his as he stretched and shifted in his seat.

“Oh my,” you gasped with a smile on your face “so he _does_ have a sense of humor!”

“Shut up.” He mumbled before closing his eyes, you figured he planned to sleep.

And as you thought about it, that didn’t seem like the worst idea ever. Although you had never been really successful with sleeping in moving vehicles, you had to give it a try. The journey ahead of you was a long one after all, and you wanted to be well rested when you arrived in Turkey. Trying to be considerate of Levi’s attempt to sleep, you silently closed your laptop and placed it into your backpack. Then you tried to make yourself as comfortable as the airplane seats allowed you and closed your eyes.

* * *

It was like you were back on the water in no time. The waves that slowly rocked the boat calmed you down. You and Levi were already in your wetsuit and to your surprise you weren’t that tired. You had managed to get some sleep in the plane and on the cab drive to the harbor. To his frustration, Levi had been less successful but had been able to sneak a couple of hours (which were two) of sleep in there. But in the short period of time that you had known the man, you had also figured out that he wasn’t a champ in getting rest. And Erwin seemed to be dealing with everything like it was his daily routine. You’d love to have your life together like he had.

“Oh, before I forget. On our way here I contacted a friend in Italy, an old diving contact, and I was able to get my hands on something very useful- “

“Hey, what was that?” You swore you had heard something in the water, and it wasn’t just the sound of another wave crashing against the boat.

“What was what?” Levi said.

“Hello, can you hear me?” A sudden voice sounded from the back of the boat. The head of a strange diver peeked above the seawater and the strange man held on to the tiny stairs that were attached to the back of the boat.

“What are you doing here? You scared the life out of me!” You told the stranger whose face was hidden by his diving goggles and mask.

“Well, well. You must be a boatload of newcomers. Mind if I come aboard?” He asked and you looked at Erwin and Levi for them to decide. At last Erwin nodded and the stranger climbed into the boat.

He was a tall and muscular man, you could already see that despite all the equipment he wore. At first, he took his diving glasses off and the rest of his oxygen mask and shook his head like a dog would if it had walked out in the rain. You scrunched your face up at the seawater that landed on your face because of it and you could hear Levi softly complain under his breath. And, to your surprise, the strange man was quite handsome. With his wet, blonde hair slicked back because of the water you could see his face clearly, he had some facial hair and beautiful blue eyes. His voice startled you out of your daze and you heard Levi scoff, he had obviously noticed you staring and you sent him a glare to shut him up.

“Nice to be out of the water for a bit, Quaint boat you got here.” He smiled.

“Who are you again?” You asked, a little bit of hostility to be found in your voice.

“Don’t you know who I am? I’m Mike Zacharias. Call me MZ, it’s got a nice ring to it, don’t you think?” Mike chuckled.

“MZ? I have heard that name before. You’re that famous German salvager.” Erwin said and you turned your head to look at him.

“That is me. I’ve been here the past few months chasing an old dream of mine, I’m looking for the treasure of the legendary Reiss Castle.” Mike explained.

“What?! That’s exactly why we’re here!” Was what you said in shock and surprise.

“Are you serious?” Mike said and leaned in to sniff you, which you found to be quite disturbing “The seas around here aren’t for beginners. They’ve been infamous for shipwrecks since the days of the ancient Greeks, complete with giant whirlpools and reefs crawling with sharks! On top of that, one shark has a seriously bad reputation among the local fishermen.” Levi looked unimpressed as he folded his arms over each other.

“And that is?”

“I’m talking about the giant man-eater Thanatos. This is his territory. He’d swallow up tiny divers like you in one big gulp. So, I think the great salvager MZ is going to find the castle first and take all the treasure.” He smirked. But you thought you saw something else behind the arrogant act he put up however, you dismissed it.

“We’ll find it first. We’re pro divers.” A little lie for your own benefit couldn’t hurt although your diving had been greatly improving. Plus, you just had a short temper and couldn’t stand the guy.

Levi seemed to choke on his own spit when you told the stranger you were all pro divers, since you definitely weren’t one.

“We happen to be, yes.” He cleared his throat, “Don’t underestimate what S&A Diving Service can do, big shot."

Mike laughed and crossed his arms as well, copying Levi who was still sitting down on one of the benches on the sides of the boat.

“You can talk all you like, but there’s no way you small guys are better than me. The tall guy in the back would have a chance though.”

Now Levi was getting mad too. For starters, people walked on thin ice when they spoke about his height and now this random guy decides to make fun of him because of it. And now he was also saying that Erwin couldn’t even reach his abilities while he didn’t know anything about his situation. That was it. Levi was done with this guy.

“You don’t believe us? Fine. You wanna fucking bet on which of us will find Reiss Castle first?” The raven-haired diver challenged the tall man as he stood up.

“You’re on. If you find it before me, I’ll clean the underside of the boat with a toothbrush. Just don’t cry when I find it first! I’ll see you around.” Said Mike as he laughed.

“You better be good at cleaning then.” Levi glared at him and Mike laughed before putting his gear back on and jumping into the water.

“That guy- ugh!” You scowled.

“It looks like this isn’t going smoothly.” Erwin sighed and raked a hand through his hair.

“But you were in the middle of saying something, Erwin. What was it?” Levi turned his attention back to the blonde as he asked his question.

“Oh, yes. This is what he sent to the harbor for me to pick up.” Erwin presented a weird technological looking object to you and Levi, “It is the latest Sina type electromagnetic multi-sensor device. Or just multi-sensor for short. It’s used for searching for objects underwater. It should help us with what we’re looking for underwater more efficiently.”

“All right, we’ll find Reiss Castle in no time with this!” You cheered optimistically.

“It only has a thirty-meter range though.” Erwin commented.

“Or in a little more time.” 

* * *

 


	6. Chapter 6

You were already pretty much used to the start of a dive by now, the sizzling of the air bubbles around your face as you jumped in and the pressure on your ears was nothing new anymore. It took you a few turns of your head to locate Levi, he floated above the rocky ground. Like always his raven hair swayed in the water and you could only imagine how it pissed him off that he couldn’t keep it in his usual perfectly styled way.

 _“Hello, this is Erwin. Can you hear me?”_ Erwin sounded from over your radio.

“We can.” Levi simply replied and you waited for Erwin to continue with his instructions.

 _“Okay, good. The only way to work with the multi sensor is to look at the screen and wait for the circle in the top left corner to turn a blue, yellow or red. Blue means that you are far away from the object, yellow means that you’re close and red that it should be right in front of you. At the bottom of the screen you can see a couple of different categories. Stone, wood, plastic, high density or low density. We should be looking for something in the categories of stone and high density. Let me know if you find anything.”_ You thanked him for the information and looked at the square shaped device in your hands, it was almost like some sort of tablet.

Levi swam to an opening between two large rocks that reached the surface of the water to head to a new area, you followed him and immediately saw something pop onto the screen of the multi-sensor.

“Oh- Levi! It’s yellow, there’s something just like what we’re looking for close by!” He stopped at what you said and when you swam closer to him, the red dot became visible. You instructed him that it should be on the rocks beneath him and he was busy searching around for a while before he swam your way with a shard of what seemed to be lapis lazuli in his hands.

“Clue number one I guess.” Was what you said and Levi tucked the shard into one of the pouches he carried on his equipment.

“Erwin, we’ve found a shard of lapis lazuli. Any information about that in this area?” His gruff voice sounded through your earpiece.

_“If you continue to where you are headed now, which I believe is the south-west, you should come across an area similar to the one where you entered the water. It should have rocks reaching above the surface of the water just like here.”_

“Roger that, Erwin.” Levi said and you tucked the multi-sensor in one of your own pouches, lucky for you the device wasn’t that big.

When you swam past the rocks there was a sudden drop where you couldn’t quite see the sandy seafloor anymore. There were a few areas of higher rocks where some coral grew on in the middle of the deeper area. And it frightened you to see that there were [Hammerhead Sharks](http://www.hammerhead-shark.com/images/Smooth-Hammerhead-Shark.jpg)swimming around them. It must have been quite obvious that the group of large animals scared you since you felt a reassuring hand being placed on your shoulder.

“They’re not dangerous, hammerhead sharks are very peaceful and calm creatures. We’re fine swimming past them as long as we don’t frighten them in any way.” Levi said and you swallowed thickly before nodding at him.

Since the two of you were headed south-west, and that was not the direction right through the group of hammerhead sharks, you were a lot more encouraged than before. Swimming past them was more than enough for you. But now that you were so close to them you noticed how large they actually were, all the more reason for you to try your best to keep up with Levi’s fast swimming. When the two of you had swam forward for a while you could already see the rocks Erwin told you about in the distance and decided to get the multi-sensor out of one of the pouches you carried with you. The circle was blue and as you neared the rock it went to yellow. However, the water was getting murky and there was an unsettling strong current in the water. It immediately became clear that you and Levi weren’t able to advance.

“Erwin, you have anything on strong currents?” You asked.

 _“It must be that you’re in front of one of the infamous Ciceros Dini whirlpools. Sailors have feared them for generations, you will have to find your way around it and make sure you don’t get too close. From what I can see on the map I have and from what I know about your location, there should be a rock face to your right, if you go back around it and then left you should be able to get through.”_ Telling Erwin that you had understood you turned away from the strong current, careful not to accidently get caught up in it.

You swam back to where you came from, making sure to take the available route around the rock to your right. When you looked down, you could see a wreckage sticking up from the sand. A couple of [Pelagic Tresher Sharks](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/34/Thresher.jpg)were minding their own business and when you looked back in front of you, you almost had a heart attack when you came face to face with a [Great Sturgeon](http://www.tnaqua.org/images/uploads/our_animals/ID_LakeSturgeon_1200x490.jpg). From your earpiece, you heard someone huff.

“Levi did you just laugh at me.” The tone in your voice was mixed with surprise and slight annoyance.

“I don’t laugh.”

 _“I don’t know what happened but he definitely laughed at you.”_ Erwin chuckled over the radio himself at Levi’s odd behavior.

“Thanks for the backup, eyebrows.” In the meantime, the great sturgeon calmly swam past you. Before seeing one in real life you had never guessed it would be this large, it was a gorgeous animal.

“Come on, you don’t wanna get left behind.” Levi’s unexpected voice snapped you out of your inspection and you followed after him. Just to be sure you took a quick look at the meter and were calmed when you saw you had plenty of oxygen left. Finally turning the corner to the other side of the enormous rock you had to swim around, you saw that it was a shoal like before. Undeep waters with a lot of sand and it was most of all scattered with old wooden boxes or pieces of boats, it really was a sea filled with wreckages over here. Some big fish nervously swam around, they looked like sailfish.

“[Indo-Pacific Sailfish](http://www.topwonders.ru/wp-content/images/vividshot/1028.jpg).” Levi said before you could even utter a word.

“Do you _have_ to be a know it all?”

“I foresaw your question, is that a bad thing too now?” The raven-haired diver scoffed as he pushed your shoulder when he swam past you to the whirlpool you had faced from the other side earlier. Seeing that, you grabbed the multi-sensor out of your pouch and made sure it worked. The dot on the screen immediately turned a bright red and you turned the device off, telling Levi the two of you should be looking here. After a bit of seeking through the sand your hand grabbed something that felt like a stone, upon further inspection you could see the bright blue color. It was nothing more than a nugget really, but it _was_ what you had been looking for.

“Erwin, we’ve found some more lapis lazuli.”

 _“Peculiar. Perhaps a ship carrying cargo of lapis lazuli sank here and the pieces ended up on the seafloor. Let me go through a record I found earlier about all the wreckages in the area.”_ It was quiet for a while until Levi and you heard his voice through the microphone again, _“It seems to be a ship called the Arktos, she sank in the early twentieth century, and her wreck is still down there. It seems she was a trader running between Egypt and Greece. You know, Egypt has been famous for its lapis lazuli crafts for centuries. The wreck of the Arktos is somewhere on my map, let me guide you there. It might be worth searching in the area. You’re now in a shallow area with some wreckages, if I’m right there is a a rock sticking up from the water. You must swim around it and stick to the edge of the rocky cliff. If you keep swimming in that direction the wreck will come in sight.”_

At that the two of you abruptly turned towards the rock, a sudden new wave of enthusiasm had hit you both. When you swam around the rock there was another deep drop, it seemed like there were lot of differences in height in the rocks and ground in general. No wonder so many ships had sunk here, there was no telling when there would be another sharp rock near the surface of the water. The two of you stuck to the edge of the rocky cliff next to you, and after a couple minutes of swimming you could see a big ship planted into the sand.

It was absolutely gorgeous; the wreckage was slightly tilted to the side and was covered in algae and other forms of coral. The two of you made your way down to where it lay, but Levi stopped you and pulled something from his belt. You were confused on what he was doing until you could see a [Great White](http://orf.at/static/images/site/news/20120939/haie_australien_body02_ap.2175140.jpg)and looked back at his hands. Figuring he didn’t want to take any risks, he quickly swam over to the animal and subdued it even though it wasn’t taking any action. Better safe than sorry.

Up close you had an even better chance to observe what was in front of you, it was amazing to see how the wreckages of these ships had been turned into the homes of so many creatures over time. [Longtooth Groupers](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/96/Epinephelus_malabaricus_in_UShaka_Sea_World_1098.jpg)and flocks of [Mahi-Mahi](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DFHD94RUAAARtMG.jpg)inhabited the area along with many more small marine life that was too tiny to see with the naked eye. A [White Tip Reef Shark](http://otlibrary.com/wp-content/gallery/white-tip-reef-shark/whitetip-reef-shark.jpg)rested on the sand below next to the wreckage. It was a peaceful sight. But you had to get back to business. The multi-sensor was switched back on and it led you to somewhere near the backside of the sunken ship. Under a few pieces of broken wood you found a bracelet made out of the familiar blue stone. You handed the item to Levi who was behind you, eager to see what you had found he snatched it out of your hands and held it up so that he could see it better.

“It looks extremely old.” You commented and Levi nodded in return, he was way to engrossed with the object in his hand.

“It has carvings, but different ones than those on my pendants. Look,” Levi held the bracelet out to you and you could see what he meant, those engravings looked more like a drawing “it looks like a map.”

“Like a town surrounded by whirlpools.” Was what you concluded, the engravings weren’t that clear anymore but the swirly patterns around some angular forms that seemed to you like houses didn’t make it that hard to figure out what it meant.

 _“Whirlpools? Could that mean the Ciceros Dini? They are found mainly in the waters to the south-west. Why don’t you investigate the area?”_ Erwin joined the conversation, since he could still hear everything that was being said.

“I agree, we need more clues.” Levi said and you only followed his lead.

The area Erwin meant wasn’t far away from the wreckage of the Arktos. The only thing you passed were more pieces of lost treasure or more sunken ships. The way leading to the area you were supposed to check out had a similar high passage between rocks that you had to go through. But the Ciceros Dini prevented you from entering it.

“Erwin, the whirlpools are everywhere. Is there anything you can tell us from your map and other archives?” You asked the blonde who patiently waited on the boat.

_“From what I can see, the Ciceros Dini surround the entire south-west of the Ciceros Strait. You two should head back to the boat for now, we can discuss what we’re going to do later.”_

Levi and you decided that that was indeed the best thing to do, the journey back to the boat was easy and you were able to get there without trouble. Once you were finally on the boat and out of all your equipment you sat down on one of the wooden benches in the boat and sighed, completely exhausted. Levi sat across from you and rested elbows on his thighs with his head in his hands. Only when you got back above the surface you noticed how tiring diving actually was. The first thing you had done when you had crawled back into the boat was give Erwin the bracelet, he was still examining it as he let the two of you take a rest. You didn’t even notice the sun was setting when Erwin spoke to you again.

“I think this is a splendid find, we should try to search the area more and see if the whirlpools disappear soon. But for now,” The blonde said as he grabbed something from a bag and threw it your and Levi’s way “eat up and go to sleep.”

With your eyes lidded from the drowsiness you could barely even read the package of what Erwin had thrown your way. It was a cereal bar, you loved your dinner tonight. As much as you wanted to complain about the food, you had other things to worry about.

“So like, where do I change?” You mentioned, the boat didn’t have a secluded area after all, not even where the steer was.

“In your sleeping bag or something.” Levi mumbled as he unwrapped his cereal bar with the same scowl he always wore on his face.

“Right.”

When all of that struggle was done, and you had miraculously managed to change while wriggling around in your sleeping bag, you could finally lay down on the deck and fall asleep.

“And then there was peace.” Levi sighed next to you.

“Are you gonna be a dick about it like, right now?” You whispered over to him as you turned in your sleeping bag.

“When am I not?” He mumbled, his back facing you. You were honestly so done with him that you somehow managed to kick him in the back through your sleeping bag. For a moment, he lay still and you considered the thought that he might have just fallen asleep and was a really heavy sleeper. But you were very wrong. He turned around slowly, his glare worse than you had seen ever before.

“If we weren’t here with Erwin right now who is a really light sleeper, I’d have fucking drowned you already.” The raven-haired man hissed as he scooted closer to you to intimidate you. And he looked silly in the sleeping bag but somehow it worked.

“Boy, am I glad Erwin is here.” You smirked and turned around, not expecting the kick that you got to your back and you whipped around.

“That fucking hurt!” You hissed at him, careful to keep it down because of Erwin.

“Did it now?” Levi teased. That was it, the last drop. You wiggled yourself out of your sleeping bag and Levi got the hint. He followed and now you were face to face on the boat, in the clothes you were sleeping in, in the middle of the night.

“It is on, Levi Ackerman.” You challenged and looked up to him.

“Is it?” He smirked.

“Oh, it is fucking on.” You nodded slowly. And before you could even start something that would look like a fight, Erwin’s drowsy voice disturbed you.

“Stop with whatever it is the two of you are doing-- I don’t even want to know, and go to sleep.”

The two of you shared a look and you mouthed ‘this isn’t over’ before crawling back into your sleeping bag as he did the same.

* * *

The days after had been fruitless, you didn’t find anything new amongst the wrecks and the whirlpools around the south-west of the Ciceros Strait didn’t disappear. So, the three of you headed back to Maria Island with the bracelet and decided to have Isabel and Farlan take a look at it. It was quite good being back at Maria Island, you had missed it for the couple of days you had been in Turkey, especially your comfortable bed. The bickering between you and Levi had been going on until you returned to the island and you believed Erwin was quite happy about it.

When you had just woken up and followed your usual morning routine you could hear the familiar sound of a jet ski approaching the island. You smiled at yourself as you stepped out of the cabin and saw a familiar redhead and a fair haired young man step on land.

* * *

 


	7. Chapter 7

“It’s so exciting that you guys are finding so many clues! And this one has drawn engravings and text, I can’t believe it!” Isabel cheered as the five of you sat at a small table outside on the island. A big umbrella was stuck in the sand by Levi to make sure there was some shade on this sunny day, and just like first time you had put the item you wanted Isabel and Farlan to appraise on the table for them to observe.

“This time a bracelet made out of lapis lazuli, let’s see.” Farlan muttered, “It’s a very old artifact. And carved on it like the other lapis objects, we have…”

“Oh, wow,” Isabel butted in “this is written in Linear B! Linear B is a script used by the Mycenaeans, who lived on islands in the Aegan Sea. It’s over 3500 years old, predating even the Greek alphabet. This is an extremely rare find!”

“Can you read it?” Levi asked.

“Well,” Farlan started “Linear B is a known alphabet and the words themselves are Greek.”

“Which means that the internet should solve most of our problems!” Isabel finished his sentence for him. At that the two of them went to work, Farlan typing away on his laptop as Isabel wrote things down on a notepad once in a while. It didn’t take more than fifteen minutes for them to solve what the written engravings on the bracelet said. As usual, Farlan read the words out loud.

“Fishermen of Triton Village of the Ailouros cape, pay heed if you value your life. Even the whirling waters fear the night. Sail in the calm twilight when all is quiet.”

“It seems like a warning written by the ancient fishermen. Maybe it means that the Ciceros Dini disappear at twilight or in the night?” Isabel suggested, “Oh, that reminds me! Erwin, you asked me for some night diving gear a couple of weeks ago. I have it for you right here!” The redhead awkwardly laughed.

Before any of you could even utter a word or thank her for getting you the supplies, she held a finger up to silence everyone and rummaged through her bag. Farlan only sighed and crossed his arms, smiling but shaking his head at his weird colleague.

“And,” she held something small up to the three of you “here’s a free gift for the long wait. It’s an underwater pen! It works by diffusing fluorescent particles into the water and causes no harm to the fish or environment! Neat, isn’t it? It’s perfect for communicating in dark places or leaving a mark somewhere to make sure you don’t lose your way!”

You accepted the pen and awkwardly looked at it. The way Isabel had described it made it seem like a handy item but you wondered if it was ever going to be used. However, you thanked her and tried your best to make it seem like this was a totally awesome deal she got you.

“Right, now that we know what we need to know it’s best if we head back to Turkey as soon as possible.” Levi crossed his arms and leaned back in his chair.

“Oh, sure, I get it. Izzy it’s time to leave.” Farlan stood up and walked around the table to make his way to where his and Isabel’s jet ski drifted in the water, but not without hitting Levi on the back of his head.

“What the fuck?” Levi said, sounding legitimately offended.

“Oh please, as if you didn’t deserve that!” Isabel stood up from her seat and walked around the table just like Farlan had before and also smacking the back of Levi’s head.

“This is what you get for being so rude.” You teased him and followed the duo to say goodbye. Levi mumbled some incoherent curse words but stood up to wave Isabel and Farlan goodbye as well. Erwin thanked them for getting the requested equipment and after that the three of you were on your way to Turkey again. Erwin looked somewhat reluctant to leave the island since he could already guess that the argueing between you and Levi would start again once you drifted on a boat in the Aegen Sea.

* * *

When you had arrived in Turkey everything went smoothly and most importantly, as you predicted. Erwin was probably ready to hurl himself off of the boat you were currently on as you and Levi were having a stupid conversation that had no possible positive outcome. The raven-haired man was having critique on your diving abilities as you kept mentioning how hard it must be for him to be so short.

“Okay,” Erwin’s agitated voice was heard and cut both of you off and made you turn your head to listen to the blonde “just to be sure we’ll go over some things before you guys dive in. We found out that the Ciceros Dini disappear at nightfall, they are most active in the south-west which is where we are headed. Fortunately, we have the equipment for night diving now. So, we should concentrate our search in the south-west of the Ciceros Strait. I’ll be able to drop you off a lot closer to the designated area too if the waters are still. Any questions?”

“It’s like I took a break from college only to end up with a long lost teacher,” at that Levi laughed through his nose, you almost failed to notice it “but no Erwin, I’m all good.”

“Me too.” Your fellow diver said in his usual monotone voice, it was still crazy to you how well he could mask his emotions.

Erwin seemed pleased that the two of you at least took the reason why you were here seriously. He went back to start the engine of the boat up and to make sure he’d stop the boat near the south-west of the Ciceros Strait. The sun was already starting to set so it should be possible to get closer now. When Erwin had dropped the anchor, and made sure the boat wasn’t able to sail off, he turned back to the two of you.

You and Levi had already been busy trying to make sure the new diving gear was attached to your normal kit properly so that there wouldn’t be any trouble down in the water. The familiar feeling of the nerves you felt with your first official dive had returned like they’d never left you, diving in the dark would surely be a new experience. But now that you thought about it, was this also Levi’s first time to dive at night?

“Hey Levi, have you ever dived at night before?” Surely the quiver in your voice was audible since you swore you saw the ends of his mouth curl up slightly.

“Nope.”

“Wait, seriously?” You halted with whatever you were fixing onto your equipment and stared at him with wide eyes.

“Of course I have, don’t you think we’d have tried diving at night in the Gatama Atoll first if even I had never done it before?” Once again, Levi succeeded in making you believe you were an idiot for asking such a question.

“But why did you need the new equipment then?” This question was directed at Erwin who was preparing the radio to make sure he could stay in contact with both of you.

“The old equipment broke.” He simply said and returned to his work. When you turned your head to look at Levi he gestured a hand towards Erwin and mouthed ‘see?’ to prove his point. You only sighed and rolled your eyes, deciding that you should be finishing up with your gear.

When all was done and the two of you were ready to dive in you made sure to bring the multi-sensor with you, just in case, and also put the underwater pen in one of the many pouches on your equipment. Now the sun was almost gone behind the horizon but the sky still held many colors. A flick to the side of your head snapped you out of your daze and you rubbed the aching spot and frowned at the culprit.

“Ow, rude.”

“If you’re distracted we’re not gonna succeed. Come on, it’s time to get into the water.” He said as if he were bored and you followed him to the little stairs that were attached to the end of the boat.

Erwin wished the two of you good luck and before you knew it, you were back swimming into the Aegen Sea together with a grumpy Levi. The sudden darkness because of the lack of sunlight really took a little of getting used to. And suddenly you disliked the idea of diving here at night a lot more when you remembered the description of the Ciceros Strait that you had read on the internet. Especially the part about ‘shark infested waters’. But you dismissed the anxiety as much as you could, you were with Levi who knew what he was doing and both of you had a pulsar. Even though you had a light, it was somewhat hard to make out Levi’s form when he was further away from you so you made sure to swim up to him so that you wouldn’t lose him out of sight.

The radio was tested and the connection was flawless. Levi had prepared himself well for whatever obstacles the night gave you, he had a compass attached to his wrist so that the two of you wouldn’t swim into the wrong direction. He also told you to stay close to him since night diving was still new to you, you were more than happy to oblige. Even the fish that you encountered in the day looked creepy at night, no matter how beautiful they were. Soon you reached the destination where there had been a whirlpool blocking your way before. Just as the engravings on the bracelet had said, the whirlpool had vanished.

A slightly deeper area was revealed and from what you could make out there were a lot more ruins in the sand than you had seen before in the entire area.

“Erwin, the engravings were right. I guess we’ve found Triton Village.” Levi announced over the radio as the two of you slowly swam down to get closer to the ruins.

_“Good work, let me know if you find something useful.”_

“Roger that.” Levi sighed.

“This is weird.” You stated as you looked at fallen pillars that were partially buried under the sand. Some tiny walls of what you presumed that used to be houses were still standing but something was off.

“What is it?” Levi asked.

“Well, Isabel and Farlan mentioned that the bracelet was really old, even older than the Greek alphabet and such. But the building style of these ruins matches that of the period that the Greek lived in.” You said as you swam further down the ruins along with Levi.

“I must say that, unfortunately, you are right.” He said.

“Not now Levi, not now.” You sighed.

The area of Triton Village wasn’t big. You could already see that it ended where a huge wall of earth and stone reached above the water level. As you and Levi neared the end of it you saw something surprising. A body floated in the water.

“Oh my God, is that a body?” You said and stopped Levi by putting a hand on his arm.

“Obviously not, otherwise he’d be drifting on the surface of the water.”

“Right, sorry.” Maybe you had to stop overreacting and start thinking.

“Let’s check it out.” Levi mumbled and Erwin remained quiet on the other end of the radio. When you neared the individual, that was indeed very much alive since they seemed to be searching for something, you heard a crack in your earpiece when the stranger seemed to notice the two of you.

“I don’t believe it – S&A Diving Service!” A familiar voice was heard over the radio.

“Are you kidding me? Mike Zacharias. How did you even connect to our signal in the first place and what are you doing here?” You had thought that the annoying but handsome man would never be seen again in your life, but you were wrong.

“Hey, I thought I told you to call me MZ, little girl. But oh well, fancy meeting you guys here, of all the places in the big old Ciceros Strait. And now of all times! I don’t think this is a coincidence. I bet you guys thought this area was a little ‘fishy’ too?”

“That was just horrible –“

“Well, you better stay on guard.” He cut you off, “Because right around here…” Mike trails off, clearly distracted by something.

“Continue?” Levi impatiently said, he absolutely hated it when people did not finish their sentences.

“Uh-oh, is it that time already?” Mike nervously laughed as he looked at a non-existent watch on his wrist. “Completely lost track while we were blabbering! He could arrive any minute now, he likes this place. I’m headed out, I love life too much to hang around here. And if you know what’s good for you, you’ll do the same!” After that Mike quickly swam off and was nowhere to be seen in the darkness.

“What the hell was that all about? He didn’t make sense at all…” You said.

 _“What’s the matter? I heard someone miraculously join our radio signal.”_ Erwin said.

“Mike was already down here.” Levi scoffs. “And after saying that bullcrap, he just took off.”

“I wonder what he was so afraid of.” And while you said that you looked around, seeing multiple silhouettes approaching from the dark.

A great white shark bigger than any shark you had ever seen had entered the area that you and Levi were swimming in. And as if they seemed to flock around him, more great white’s entered your line of vision. Swallowing a rising lump in your throat you repeatedly hit Levi’s upper arm until he turned around to see what you were looking at.

“So _that’s_ what Mike was so afraid of. It must be that shark he told us about some weeks earlier, Thanatos or some shit.” Levi said. Oh, how you wondered why this man managed to stay calm under literally _any_ circumstances.

“Is it just me or is it heading this way?”

“…Unfortunately, it is.”

 _“Levi, (First), what’s going on there? What are you talking about?”_ Erwin sounded from over the radio.

“Not now Erwin.” Levi simply said and readied his pulsar. He pulled the trigger at the approaching animal, that was still far away, as many times as possible but it didn’t stop advancing. Now the real panic kicked in. Levi kept trying but you knew it’d be the death of him if he continued to do so.

“Levi! There’s a well down here that I’m sure we can hide in. Come on before you get yourself killed!” Luckily you had noticed a well hidden behind a crumbled wall just near the end of the closed off area. And Levi decided this wasn’t the time to be stubborn so he followed you down to the well as fast as he could. You entered the well and swam down far enough so that Levi could follow you. As the two of you gazed up to see that the huge shark swam above the well you sighed in relief.

 _“Is everyone all right?”_ Erwin’s concerned voice sounded in your earpiece.

“We’re just fine!” You said, still breathing heavily because of the adrenaline that ran through your veins out of fear.

“We should be safe for now, let’s hope he gives up and disappears soon. But just to be safe, I’ll share my air with you.” He said and swam up to you.

“What, Levi, you don’t have to do that. I’ve got enough left!” You argued.

“Take a look at your oxygen meter and tell me I shouldn’t share my air with you.” He was right, you were dramatically low on oxygen. “You wasted a big amount of air back there out of fear, try to calm your breathing.”

“Well, I’m not like you. I get scared.”

“Well, it’s good that you’re not like me. And trust me (First), everyone gets scared sometimes.” His words made you frown, was it a way of him to comfort you or did it mean something else? Whatever, you would find out one day. Levi had shared his air with you by connecting various tubes and other parts of his equipment with yours and was now retrieving them again. Now that he was done you wanted to get away from him a little and looked down to see if the well was any deeper than this.

“Hey, don’t you think this is kinda long and deep for a well? I can’t see the bottom.” You said and Levi immediately looked down to check it out. “It’s like it goes on forever.”

“Strange, it almost looks like a passage.” Levi said.

“Wait, you don’t think the well was…” The two of you seemed to think the same thing when you made eye contact with him.

“A hidden entrance to Reiss Castle?” Even though his face remained stoic as ever from what you could see, the excited glint in his eyes gave his emotions away. Both full of doubt but curiosity you followed the strange entrance.

* * *

 


	8. Chapter 8

Diving deeper into the unknown you noticed that the ‘well’ was starting to look more and more like some sort of hallway. Levi guessed that the two of you were about forty meters deep and that the two of you would stop if it became as far as fifty meters down. Luckily that didn’t happen, the hallway seemed to take a turn to the left. You were certain this was leading somewhere now, especially since you could make out a larger chamber behind the current short corridor you were in.

You entered the chamber and to your surprise, it was actually a tower. The rounded room made out of old stone rose far up to even above the water level. It was now pretty much confirmed this was a tower of an old castle. On the stone, sand covered floor you could see tiny sea slugs crawling around. You had read about this kind, they were called [Bioluminescent Sea Slugs](http://cdn.gelestatic.it/3nz/www/2014/09/22647-1pvyhjv.jpg)and they would light up in dark places. The tower itself was full of tiny [Blue-Green Chromis](https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/originals/33/ba/09/33ba09cb85e11ec2533ee7c2c6973761.jpg)that were about the size of your pinky finger.

“Let’s check it out.” You said to Levi and swam upwards, he followed you without saying anything.

Seeing the surface of the water illuminated with only moonlight you could make out the silhouettes of hammerhead sharks, you wondered how they had even managed to get into this place. Looking around you noticed something else, two corridors in the spherical walls. One lead you east and another one would lead you north. You entered the corridor to the north but after a while of swimming you saw that the path was blocked by rubble and debris from the collapsed hallway.

“We should see if the other hallway is still intact.” Said Levi as he turned around to leave the current aisle you were in.

When you followed your colleague into the east corridor it was clear that the path wasn’t blocked over there. There was an entrance to a second part of the hallway, making you wonder how long it would go on. There was an open doorway further down the dark hall and it lead you to a small room. There was another doorway that you could already see through, it seemed like a beautifully detailed hallway. But before you could enter the room in front of you, Levi stopped you.

“What is it?” You asked him.

“Let’s try to contact Erwin,” He said, “Erwin can you hear us?”

 _“(First)…..evi…I can hear yo…but the con…tion…is very bad.”_ Levi grunted at the inconvenience.

“I can confirm we have found Reiss Castle. I repeat, we have found Reiss Castle” He said.

 _“Congratu…ns…be careful since thi..ur…first time..diving in an enclose..pace…make sure you don’t accede..ly…destroy the wal…they might be fragile.”_ As far as you could hear Erwin you were sort of able to make out what he was saying.

“Roger that.” Levi said and turned to you, “He was saying stuff about how we should be careful with the walls and touching anything since we don’t know how old it is and if it’s close to collapsing. I wonder if Kenny was searching for Reiss Castle too…” He trailed off and you just nodded at him that you understood. When your hands skimmed one of the pouches on your equipment you thought of something.

“Oh, wait Levi. Shouldn’t we leave a mark here with the underwater pen Isabel gave us? We don’t know how big this castle is and if we get lost we’ll know that this is the way out if we come across this room and see the mark.” Suddenly Isabel’s gift seemed to come in handy.

“Sure, go ahead Picasso.” Levi said sarcastically. You left a mark and since it was your first time using the pen it didn’t look all that great.

“That’s…. pretty méprisable. Never mind, it’ll do.” The raven-haired diver commented.

“Did you just insult me in French? And, you always have to complain, don’t you?”

“It’s one of my many talents.” Sighing at his behavior you turned back to see that the mark the underwater pen left didn’t disappear. In fact, the fish in the area seemed to be attracted to the bright fluorescent particles it left behind. Turning around to face the doorway you swam through it and saw [Red Gurnards](http://cms.kienthuc.net.vn/uploaded/luuthoa/2013_10_21/c%C3%A1%20ch%C3%A0o%20m%C3%A0o/sacsokienthuc1_eymq.jpg)scattered around the floor, you thought it was amazing that this old place could be a home to so many animals. Of course, Levi stopped you again in your tracks and you were about to scold him for doing it so many times.

“There are [Luna Lionfish](https://68.media.tumblr.com/783c258252140a2c475393a83209e6fc/tumblr_inline_nydtp34Bml1qk45js_540.jpg)here. They’re venomous plus it’ll be incredibly painful if you get stung by them. It’s not like they’ll attack you but just make sure to avoid them.” Mumbling an ‘okay’ you followed Levi as he made sure to stick close to the wall to avoid the couple of lethal fish in the room.

Then you entered the high hallway which had windows stretching far above your head. Even the moonlight that shone on the water illuminated the area with beautiful pale light. Numerous fish seemed attracted to the little light the windows offered them, [Lined Surgeonfish](http://www.wetwebmedia.com/AcanthuroidPIX/TangPIX/Acanthurus/A.%20lineatus/A.%20lineatus%20FJ%20\(1\).JPG), [Yellowtail Coris](http://saltwater.tropicalfishandaquariums.com/wrasses/Coris-gaimard-f.jpg)and [European Parrotfish](http://colourlovers.com.s3.amazonaws.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2007/12/female-parrotfish.jpg)especially seemed to like the corridor.

“It’s like an underwater gallery!” You remarked and couldn’t wipe the amazed smile off your face.

On your left were the tall windows and to you right were equally tall doors. Most of the doors were closed and as you and Levi continued on your way through the long but beautiful corridor you could see that near the end of it, one door was slightly parted. The opening was big enough for you and Levi to swim through without any troubles.

In the newly discovered room there were many tables and chairs, some of them toppled over and others still standing like nothing had ever happened to the castle. Again, many fish inhabited the room but before you could check out what kinds they were Levi swam up to something that hung on the wall to your left. Something looking like a map was what had caught Levi’s attention.

“Is it a map?” You questioned, maybe Levi knew more about it.

“I guess so, it seems interesting.” He only said.

 _“Hello? I seem to have a good connection now. Did you say anything about a map?”_ Erwin’s voice was heard through your earpiece.

“It looks like a map of the world, a round one to be exact. It doesn’t make sense so I guess it’s old as shit.” Levi said as he explained what the drawn map looked like to Erwin. You only thought how lucky you were that you could still see old things like this and that it hadn’t decayed over time.

 _“Ah, I have information on an old map looking like that, you two have found something unusual. It’s a map of a circular earth, also called Ymir’s Map of the World.”_ Erwin explained.

“Why did she draw the world looking like that?” You asked, now a bit more curious about the strange map than before.

_“It’s one of several world maps that the ancient Greeks created, with three large continents on a circular disc surrounded by a sinlge ocean. Of course, today, no one believes this. But it was rare in the period of time for anyone to own such a thing. So, you may be looking at something from princess Reiss’ private collection.”_

“She must have liked either the map or that Ymir person a lot then.” Levi sighed and swam away to look around the room, you wondered if the thought of Kenny earlier had saddened Levi. You frowned at the thought but decided it was best to keep investigating the area. Right across from where the map hung you saw a tall door. When you swam up to it and carefully tried to push it open, it worked! You motioned Levi to follow you and he complied.

Behind the tall doors there was a huge ballroom. It wasn’t filled with anything but a few pillars to keep the room standing. Beautiful golden decorated chandeliers hung from the ceiling while others had fallen down on the sandy floor, and although the floor was mostly covered with sand you could see the detailed paintings on the smooth stone. Schools of fish swam around the beautiful room and as you strained your eyes to look further ahead you could see that there was a throne on a pedestal at the end of it. But then you saw a larger creature graciously swim around the room, it wasn’t like anything you had ever seen before.

“Levi, what is that?” You asked him as you pointed at the animal in question.

“It’s a [False Killer Whale](http://media.npr.org/assets/img/2017/01/18/gettyimages-124772710_custom-6bf57395f47c480d40c07d15e8ff4baea279f019-s900-c85.jpg), they’re larger than normal dolphins but not Killer Whales either, they’re just similar to the orca’s. They’re very intelligent and curious, it shouldn’t be of any danger to us.” Levi explained as he swam further down the room and the false killer whale neared him to inspect this uncommon being in the room, it had most likely never seen a human before.

“They always seem to like you.” He didn’t reply at your worlds and carefully interacted with the animal that swam around him.

“Don’t you think it’s beautiful here Levi? I haven't heard from you about it.” You asked him as the false killer whale decided to see who you were now.

“It’s not bad I guess.” Was all he said before swimming across the room.

 _“To update you, (First), that means he thinks it’s ‘amazing’ in Levi language.”_ Said Erwin from the radio and you chuckled at that.

“Stop embarrassing me, eyebrows.” Levi grumbled, “Hey brat, come over here and check this out.” He said to get off topic.

Levi was far in the back of the ballroom somewhere to the right of the throne. As you neared him you could see that there was another set of tall doors. Levi seemed to have opened it and swam into another new room. There wasn’t much in the new room, only another huge door on the left of the chamber. However, this one seemed much more decorated than the ones you had encountered before. The lock on the door was also big, it seemed securely locked. But there was an inscription in Latin on the lock.

“She who sits on the Seat of Glory will surely enter the Royal Study.” Well, that was what you thought it said since Latin was never your strong subject.

“Seat of Glory, what the hell is that all about? You sure you translated that correctly?” Levi mumbled.

“Shut up, it’s correct… I think. Maybe the throne in the ballroom? What else would be a ‘Seat of Glory’?”

“My fac- “

 _“Levi, I can still hear the conversation.”_ You stifled a laugh at Erwin’s stern voice over the radio.

“I’m just going to pretend you didn’t try to make a dirty joke there. But to be honest I never thought you had it in you.” Was all you said as you swam past him back to the ballroom.

“Then I’ll have a lot of surprises for you, but let’s get back to business.” The raven-haired man said as he followed you to the ballroom.

“Erwin, how does he switch moods so quickly?” You questioned the blonde who waited patiently in the boat.

 _“I don’t know, he just... he does that sometimes.”_ Erwin sighed at the other end of the line and you smiled at the silliness of the two.

The ‘throne’ as you had put it befrore, seemed to be more like the chair the princess would sit on at parties and such since it wasn’t the most extravagant chair. But that didn’t mean it looked terrible, it was still beautifully decorated but just not enough to be the actual throne.

“Why are these fuckers swarming this fucking castle.” Levi’s annoyed voice made you try to look for what he was getting so pissed off about, and you saw a luna lionfish swimming around the throne almost as if it guarded it.

“Just our luck.” You sighed.

“Wait, (First), the uhh… the thing! You know what I’m talking about.” Levi gestured a writing motion and you laughed as you grabbed the underwater pen from where you had it stored in your equipment.

“The underwater pen, it’s okay Levi we all forget how to talk once in a while.” He scowled at your teasing.

“Draw something crappy like before and lure it away.” You heard him say.

“So you _did_ insult me back there!” Gasping like you were offended you looked at him with wide eyes and he just rolled his at you.

“Just do it already.” He ordered and you did as you were told, drawing some random lines with the underwater pen and getting the hell away from it before the lionfish would come close to you as well.

And just as Levi predicted, the fish noticed the bright fluorescent colors and was all too interested in it now that there was little to no light. You wondered what time it was and how long you and Levi had been in here. Now that Levi could safely investigate the seat he lifted the cushion up and saw a key lying underneath it. He grabbed it and swam back to the other room with you. Now that the two of you floated in front of the big, important looking door again, he tried to fit the key into the lock. A click was heard and Levi softly pushed the doors open to reveal a beautiful study. At the end of the study stood a big desk with an expensive looking chair behind it, to your right were numerous bookshelves that reached the ceiling of the study and on the wall to your left hung a couple of paintings and what looked like a portrait of the princess herself from what was still visible.

Levi and you went to investigate the painting and its golden frame that seemed to have something written on it. Once again in Latin, but Levi told you he’d translate it this time and you complained about him not trusting you with the task.

“Even when I become but a spirit, I will keep eternal watch over this door to protect my treasure from thieves.” He read out.

“Creepy.” You commented and dismissed the quote. Your attention was on the huge bookshelves that were on the other side of the room.

The shelves were covered with the remains of disintegrated books. Only one volume was still intact and now that you took a closer look at it you saw that it was a fake book. It was attached to the bookshelf and you already knew what this meant. Levi swam up to you and wanted to stop you before you did something stupid, at least that was what he said.

“How ironic,” Levi laughed as he read the title of the book “Clavis means key in Latin.” He said as he pulled at the book and one of the bookshelves opened like a door.

“Fuck yes it’s a secret door I love this!” You squealed in the microphone when the obvious cliché of the fake book being a lever became a reality.

“Stop yelling into the microphone you’re gonna make everyone fucking deaf.” Levi scolded you but did look impressed about the secret door.

Just as you and Levi were about to enter the secret room a weird noise resounded throughout the room. Was it a sound, or music maybe? Before you or Levi could question it, it was heard again.

“Okay what was that?” It hadn’t just been a weird tune, it sounded downright scary. And you didn't even know if a noise could even sound scary, it just did.

Suddenly, the doors to the study entrance closed, you and Levi were locked in. Trying not to panic both of you headed towards the doors, it could have just been a strong current, right? Levi tried to reopen the door with the key but it didn’t budge. He suggested the two of you try to contact Erwin and you agreed.

“Erwin, can you hear me?” Levi said calmly, no response.

“Erwin, can you hear us?” You tried, but again no luck.

“God fucking dammit.” Levi cursed.

“Okay, Levi we need to stay calm.” Was what you told him, things would only get worse if anyone lost their temper or panicked.

“No sure, we shouldn’t worry it’s gonna be fine we have fifty minutes left of oxygen, (First)!” He yelled.

“Levi stop, calm down!” You said as you grabbed his shoulder to make him look at you. “We’ll get out of here. Together. Okay?” Levi did nothing but gaze into your (Eye Color) eyes for a moment. He sighed and nodded, you were sure he would have raked a hand through his hair if his goggles and other equipment weren’t in the way. “Let’s stay calm and focus on wasting to much air. We’ve got this.” You kept encouraging him.

“We’ve got this.”

* * *

 


	9. Chapter 9

"Let's go check out that room hidden by bookshelves." Was the first thing you said to him, after all you couldn't afford to lose any more time. With just fifty minutes left of oxygen you had to be quick to find a way out of this room and get out of the castle in that time, and swimming back to the boat would cost you at least half an hour.

When the two of you approached the new opening in the wall you could make out a lot of sandy crates and other stored items. Other than that there were multiple old looking cups and items that seemed to be made out of gold or silver that laid on the ground somewhere. Carefully entering the secret chamber with Levi right behind you, you took a turn to your right. The room didn't continue for more than a few meters, it was a small secret chamber just to protect princess Reiss' most valuable possessions. 

At the end of the room you saw a detailed stool, it had a cushion on it but on top of that lay something that looked like a tablet. It was covered with sand and with a tiny bit of algae. You delicately picked the tablet up and swiped gloved fingers over the surface to see what was underneath the dirt that covered it. A bright blue color appeared in front of your eyes and you immediately recognized it as another object made out of lapis lazuli. You noticed that Levi had swam up beside you in the narrow room and examined the tablet.

"It's got characters or designs carved into the surface, and seeing how carefully protected it was it must be incredibly valuable." He said.

"Do you think the princess created this whole room and the protection system just to hide this tablet?" You wondered.

 "Maybe. But if that is the case, she must have visited the room regularly, which means that there is a way to get out of here." Levi stated, he wasted no time and headed back to the study as you put the tablet in one of your pouches. He investigated the other side of the room, sought inside crates and shelves but found nothing. You searched for anything that could be of use but to no avail. Ten minutes had passed.

"Can't we break a window-- or even the door?" Was what you suggested as a last resort.

"No," Levi started as he swam towards the desk at the end of the room to search it. "If we try to break down the door the room might collapse and we wouldn't have a way out. If we break the glass of the window it could cut the wires for our oxygen and you or me would be done for in a few minutes."

A defeated sigh left your mouth. You tried to see if there was another switch in the numerous bookshelves. You shoved away the decayed books and other sand and rubbish that laid on the shelves but nothing came in sight. Then you suddenly heard an odd clicking sound coming from the door, so you  looked at the bookshelf but there was nothing that looked like a switch in sight. Turning your head to Levi you saw that he had moved the chair away from the desk and was doing something underneath it.

"Levi what did you just do? I heard a clicking sound from the door." 

"You did? I found a lever under here. Try opening the door!" He sounded hopeful. The sound probably hadn't reached his ears all the way in the back of the room but since you were closer to it, you luckily had. When you reached the door and tried to open it it didn't work. You were still locked in.

"It's not working..." You trailed off in defeat.

"Did it stop working throughout the years?" Levi wondered.

"Perhaps, who knows. But-- but what if we try it at the same time? One pulls the lever while the other pushes the door!" You tried to sound positive but in the back of your mind you knew that what Levi said might as well have been correct. But if you'd never try you'd never know, and even if it didn't work you would get reckless and probably break the window anyways. 

"Okay, you pull the lever and I push the door." Levi said and the two of you exchanged places in the room.

"On three?" You asked, he nodded.

"One... Two... Three!" 

As hard as it was to push a heavy object in the water, Levi succeeded in pushing the large door open. It was only at a small creak and he quickly slipped his hand through so that it wouldn't fall closed again. When you were about to swim up to Levi you saw something in the corner of your eye. Behind the glass of the window a large [North Atlantic Right Whale](http://s.ngm.com/2008/10/right-whales/img/southern-right-whale-615.jpg)swam past the castle. The breathtaking creature almost made you forget about the whole situation. Behind you Levi saw the whale too, and he would have been staring like you did if it weren't for his arm that was still in between the door to keep it from falling shut.

"Stop staring and hurry the fuck up! My arm hurts and we need to get back to the boat!" You heard Levi yell through the microphone.

His sudden voice had startled you and had also made you feel a bit guilty for not rushing over to help him in an instant. When you had pushed the door open together with Levi to free his arm the two of you tried to make your way back through the castle as quick as you could. A few new rooms were discovered in the process and you were beginning to worry about your oxygen level. 

"We have about fifteen minutes left." Levi said as the two of you swam through the beautiful corridor from earlier, even though he tried to remain calm you could hear the stress in his tone.

"It's okay we've got this. By the way, I didn't know that there were North Atlantic Right Whales in the Ciceros Strait." You wondered if Levi knew more about the area.

"I can't believe how quickly you change the subject, but I had no idea either. Life surprises you time after fucking time I guess." Now Levi sounded a bit sarcastic and the mood seemed to lighten up. Then you noticed something bright at the end of the hallway.

"Look Levi! It's the mark we left!" You pointed to the end of the corridor, in the room behind the doorframe you could make out the fluorescent colors that the underwater pen had left behind. Without any reaction from his side the two of you swam as fast as you could to the other room. 

For a moment both of you had forgotten that the said room was filled with a couple of lionfish, Levi had stopped you at the last second from bumping into one of them and you thanked him for it. The fish were carefully avoided afterwards and in the room that followed you paid attention to make sure that you wouldn't get close to any of them either. After that the two of you made your way through the tower and ended up in the same path you came from.

When the exit through the well could be seen you and Levi were careful not to swim up too quickly in your rush, neither of you wanted to end up like Erwin. Levi told you the area was clear and that he didn't spot a single shark. The two of you made it out without any trouble and ended up near the boat with five minutes of oxygen left. The radio connection to Erwin hadn't been revived and both of you figured that the signal had gotten too messed up in the castle to restore so quickly. Then, at last, you and Levi reached the surface of the water and were greeted by a yelling Erwin.

"Dear mother Maria! I thought I would never see your faces again!" The man shouted out and buried his face in his hands as he sat down in the swaying boat. Levi and you slowly climbed aboard and when the two of you just got your equipment off and the blonde didn't hesitate to bring you together into an uncomfortable group hug. "What happened down there?" He asked.

"We heard a weird sound and then there was some sort of defense mechanism in the room that activated when we opened the secret storage." You started.

"Then we lost fucking contact with you and started to search the place to find a way out, but in the storage room we found this." Levi nodded at you and you crouched down to your equipment and took the lapis lazuli tablet out of the pouch. "It looks similar to the stuff we found before so we decided to bring it, then we managed to find a way out of the room by discovering a lever under the desk. It was a drag but we made it." 

You sighed absentmindedly, if only Erwin knew how much Levi was freaking out back then. But you decided not to mention it, it was probably something personal to him and you hated it when people shared those kinds of moments with others yourself. When you thought about it, it was actually quite strange how you were able to remain so calm, Levi was probably more scared than you in the situation back then. Perhaps that's how you remained so calm, because you had to make sure he wouldn't freak out.

"This is strange though," Erwin started. "Why would something like a tablet made out of lapis lazuli be in Reiss Castle? And the writing is completely different than anything we have encountered before!" 

The only thing you could do was shrug, you had no idea why the tablet had been there either. Everything was such a mystery to you, to all of you. You, nor Levi, had known what the strange sound was you heard back then, it wasn't like anything you had heard before. Thinking about it still sent shivers down your spine. What had the sound been? Why was there a lapis lazuli tablet in Reiss Castle? What was written on it? Did it have a connection with the mystery of the Song of Dragons? Pretty much everything was unknown. The thrilling riddle just kept expanding and you couldn't help but love it. There was some fear that spooked around in the back of your mind but your need to find out the secret of the Song of Dragons overpowered that. 

"Do you think that this tablet might have been the sought-after treasure of Reiss Castle?" Erwin asked you.

"Who knows, but if it is, that annoying salvager Mike must have been looking for it too." Just thinking of the despicable, but terribly handsome man made you cringe. 

"Hey! Are you talking about me?" A familiar voice sounded from behind you and as you closed your eyes and turned around, hoping it had been your imagination, but you already prepared yourself for the worst.

"No fucking way..." And yes, Mike Zacharias was in the water holding on to the tiny ladder on the boat.

"Mike Zacharias," you crossed your arms. "What wet rock did you crawl out from under?" you kept your eyes trained on him as he entered the boat and took his mask off to reveal his sharp features.

"How many times do I have to say this? Call me MZ. It's not rocket surgery." He whined.

"You mean rocket science- "

"Just pronounce the letters, M, Z." He said to you, still talking to you like you were a child. And it pissed you off immensely.

"You know, only Americans pronounce it like 'em zee' but we just say 'em zed ' and that sounds fucking horrible to be honest." Levi butted into the conversation.

"Psh, like I care." He scoffed like it meant nothing to him but you could already see that he was embarrassed by the blush that spread across his cheeks. "But moving swiftly on," he said as he scanned your faces, weirded out by the sudden change of expression you wore on your face. "Why are you all grinning like that? Are you up to something?"

"More like looking forward to tell you something. We found Reiss Castle before you did! We even have proof." You smugly said and put your hands on your hips. Erwin held out the tablet for him to see and the salvager widened his eyes.

"Tha- That's one of the Okeanos tablets! But if that's all that was there, that means that what I'm looking for isn't there." He said as he rubbed his stubbled chin.

"You know something about this tablet, don't you?" Levi asked sternly.

“It’s one of a set of tablets left by a mysterious ancient people called the Okeanides. Quite a few have been found around the world but they’re out of place artifacts and never fitting in the right time or place. The Okeanides went to all the trouble of carving stuff into precious lapis lazuli so they must have been trying to tell us something, but there’s no one alive who can read this alphabet.” Mike explained.

"So you don't know what it says?" Asked Erwin.

“Nobody does. And because of that, the only value it has right now is archeological. What I’m searching for has a lot more worldly value. A more gorgeous treasure, you see.” Mike said with a small, smug smirk.

“What, like silver and gold? That kind of ‘get rich quick’ treasure?” You laughed.

“Well, let’s just say that’s my little secret.” Once again Mike avoided talking about his motives, but now you definitely knew that there was some deeper meaning to why he was doing all of this and why he was looking for a great treasure. But you decided not to pry once more. “But anyways, thanks to you people I can now say goodbye to this boring pond. Until our paths cross again, goodbye!” Mike said before putting his mask on, not giving you any time to say something before he dived back into the water.

“He cares about nothing but himself it seems.” Erwin said.

“Oh, shit.” Levi said.

“What is it now?” A sigh escaped your mouth, expecting even more drama.

“The bet! He lost the bet, he didn’t find the fucking castle. I wanted to see him clean the boat with a fucking toothbrush.”

Erwin sighed, “Levi…”

* * *

The airplane just took off, and once again you were seated next to Levi. You had been left trying to confront him about something the last couple of hours. But, he avoided or waved you off about it the entire time. Now that the 'seatbelt on' sign still shone brightly you grinned, knowing the raven-haired man had no escape from you now. Especially because he was seated next to the window and you next to the aisle, he was trapped and you had him right where you wanted.

"So, Levi. I've been meaning to ask you something." Was how you started.

"Oh really? Can't wait to find out what." He mumbled, looking out the window as the sarcasm dripped from his voice.

"It's something that involves, I dunno, something you said about a certain 'Seat of Glory'?" You grinned as you saw his shoulders tense, it was hilarious to make him uncomfortable.

"You have to take a dirty joke seriously, or is it just because you want it to be?" He turned to look at you, the game was on now.

"But it's just so," you inhaled sharply, continuing with your teasing act. "Out of character!" A look of pity was found on your face as you looked at him when you said those words. He raised his eyebrows in question.

"Oh really? And you know my 'character'?" 

"Oh boy, do I now. I know how you work, and it's not something you would say just like that!" You raised your pointer finger at him to prove your point.

"Ah, so you know how I work then, I hope you're in for a surprise then since- I know, you're not gonna expect this but, I have a fucking sense of humor!" He sarcastically smiled back at you and it was incredibly entertaining to see him act this way.

"But still," you frowned deeply and closed your eyes, putting a finger to your chin to point out how deep in thought you acted to be "I do wonder..."

"About what, (First)?" Now Levi seemed to become a little annoyed with you so you knew you had to get to the point now.

"What was it all about?" This time the question was completely serious and you honestly wanted to know the answer, not because you particularly had feelings for Levi. Sure, he was really handsome and a funny guy but you weren't in love with him... yet. Still, you longed for the answer because you just had to be the kind of person who wants to know everything. Just at that moment, the beeping noise of the 'seatbelt on' sign sounded and both of you snapped your heads up, only to see that it had been put out. In less than a second Levi had unbuckled the seatbelt and was ready to stand up, but you weren't gonna let him do as he pleased. As quickly as you could manage you put your leg on the headrest of the seat in front of you, successfully blocking his path.

"Are you fucking serious." It wasn't even a question, poor Levi was just done with this.

"Answer the question, Levi." A serious look was plastered on your face but you honestly couldn't take yourself serious, not in the position you were in and neither could Levi.

"Oh no- there goes your leg!" The stronger man monotonously said and lifted your leg up until it hurt so you retracted it to stop the pain. When you opened your eyes you saw him walking away to the bathrooms. Mission failed.

* * *

 


	10. Chapter 10

After arriving back on Maria Island Erwin decided that you all deserved a break. Of course, the break lasted for about two days but you still appreciated the concern. The time difference had messed with your head successfully and you needed to regain your energy. The two small days passed in what seemed like an instant, during that time you, Levi and Erwin had tried contacting Isabel and Farlan about the tablet but they had been busy with other clients and would be available in a few days from now on. That only meant that S&A Diving Service had to return to their usual work, and now that the news of the discovery of Reiss Castle had made the front pages there were a lot of jobs offered to the company. Diving magazines asking for pictures of specific animals or people even asked for a tour of the Gatama Atoll or other areas surrounding the island. Some local fishermen on neighboring islands had congratulated the company on the find, others were slightly annoyed cause the attention would scare the fish away or so they said.

You, on the other hand, were quite satisfied with how things were going. Determined to gain more experience you started diving on your own in the Gatama Atoll and even took some photo requests that were send in. Not that you were a professional but it couldn't hurt to try and you were helping the diving service out! Erwin appreciated how hard you worked and tried to improve your diving. He had asked you about the lovely whale shark, Bob, that roamed through the Gatama Atoll over and over again. To you it was adorable that the older man could be so excited about a creature like that, he must have loved seeing it around when he was still able to dive. You had seen the mother humpback whale and her calf around once or twice too, you were glad you got the opportunity to see them again. 

Today you had headed out to the Gatama Atoll to take a photograph of a Leatherback Turtle. They were frequently seen around in the Gatama Atoll and there were even legends about one leatherback turtle in particular. The leatherback is the largest turtle, and the legend is about the largest leatherback. The ship that first sighted and reported this giant was the Cacoa Maharaja, and the turtle has somehow taken the same name. Its friendly nature that the local fishermen speak of made it popular around the seas and the Gatama Atoll. They say that the chances of sighting Cacoa Maharaja are actually very slim, as it is only seen once a year by the inhabitants and fishermen of the islands. This has led to a rumor that anyone who sees the turtle will be blessed with amazingly good luck.

Of course, legends were legends. Even though you had taken Levi's warning about the urban legends of the areas around the Gatama Atoll and the sea in general seriously, it was still somewhat hard to believe that such things really existed. But thinking that way was a bit hypocritical since you were basically searching for something called the Song of Dragons, that wasn't very believable either. You shrugged your shoulders as you stepped off the jet ski you had taken to the Gatama Atoll and got on land. Since the underwater camera Isabel had given you was quite an old model, although the quality of the pictures were good, you still had to develop the photos and that took a good fifteen minutes. The technology on the island was limited after all, you were glad there was even wifi. When the photo had been printed out you went to Erwin for approval, he was the one in charge of the requests and other jobs after all. The blonde was seated in a chair under an umbrella, reading something on his laptop as he typed away. He wore sunglasses and a typical shirt with floral prints on it and some pretty unsightly cream colored shorts. You were happy he didn't wear socks in his sandals. 

"Hey Erwin, I developed the picture of the Leatherback Turtle for the job you gave me!" You called out to him as you waved the picture softly in the air while you still approached him. Upon hearing what you said he hastily pushed his sunglasses up to reveal his blue eyes and outstretched his arm so you could hand him [the picture](http://i.telegraph.co.uk/multimedia/archive/02036/leatherback-turtle_2036612b.jpg). He studied it for a moment, his gentle smile growing by the second.

"A masterpiece, (First)!" He said happily. "I'm sending this in as soon as possible, I bet they're going to love it!" Erwin smiled and snapped his laptop shut and stood up to walk back into the big cabin nearby.

"I'm glad! Oh by the way," you said before he could leave, he turned to you and waited for what you had to say to him "Bob said hi to you!" 

With a huge grin and a small skip in his walk, the blonde man entered the cabin to return to business. A small huff of laughter came from your mouth, it was just so hilarious and pure that such a small and somewhat childish thing could make Erwin's day like that. Still deep in thought you stared at the cabin, standing in front of the big table where the radio to contact Farlan and Isabel was on and where the diving logs and other things lay.

"I know that walk. Did you mention Bob again?" A familiar deep voice was heard from your side and you turned to meet the diver his eyes.

"I did, but I also did a great job on the photo request!" You smiled genuinely.

"Well, it's nice to hear that you're doing at least  _something_ right." Levi spoke as he ran a hand through his wet locks. Now that you took the time to take his appearance in it looked like he had spent time in the water with the dolphin that liked to hang around Maria Island again.

"Always so rude." There was not a single hint of offense in the tone of your voice but it had become a daily routine for the two of you to tease each other. "How is the brat?" You decided to ask about the creature, you had encountered it in the Gatama Atoll a couple of times the last few days and weren't really able to come up with a decent name yet.

"When you call her that it sounds horrible." Levi scoffed.

"Of course it does." A sarcastic smile was sent his way as you were putting the underwater camera away in a box on the desk, at day it was always kept there in case someone needed it for a sudden job or something else.

"She's fine, shitty energetic as always. Still no name ideas?" Your colleague asked as he grabbed a towel that was draped over a nearby chair and dried his face and hair off.

"What about Snorkel?" 

"Fucking horrible."

"Hey, you wanted a suggestion! There was never any guarantee that it would be a good one!" You put your hands up in defense and a playful smile stretched across your lips, conversations with Levi like this were always amusing.

"Right. Why don't you get back to work?" 

* * *

Later that day when the sun was about to set you tried contacting Isabel and Farlan again. The two had just returned from their last client and told you they could drop by in the evening the next day. It was good to know that progress would be made in finding out the mystery of the Song of Dragons soon! When you put your phone back on the table on the beach you took a moment to look at the bright orange sky. The sunsets really were your favorite things at Maria Island. In the distance you heard the sound of splashing water, you guessed that dolphin really must like Levi or the island a lot to come back here so often. Seeing as you were walking around in your wetsuit the entire day it couldn't hurt to get in the water for a bit now. Walking over to the little dock and sitting yourself down on the edge of it you let your feet dangle into the water, a familiar dolphin was happily swimming around not far away from you as you could see her fin above the water multiple times.

Carefully lowering yourself into the water you realized you had forgotten how it felt to swim without so much diving gear on. You felt so much lighter, you made your way over to where the water wasn't too deep but also not too shallow to stand in. As if the dolphin had felt why you entered the water, it approached you, happily nudging you with her snout. You laughed at the animal and swam away to the side, when you turned your head to look back you saw it followed you around. At first you were quite hesitant to touch the creature, even when you had seen Levi do it you still weren't sure what was off limits to do, you had no experience with these animals after all. But when you finally dared to ghost your ungloved fingertips around to interact with her, the dolphin did something unexpected and you were met with a huge splash of water over your head.

"Serves you right, it seems like I thought the brat well." The definitely amused voice of Levi Ackerman was heard behind you. You were able to stand in the water as you had swam over to a more shallow part close to the island and saw him smugly looking at your annoyed face.

"I was actually starting to think I was getting somewhere with her." A defeated sigh left your lips.

"Oh well," Levi uncrossed his arms and started to walk into the water as well "the shitty brat does seem to like you."

"She doesn't let it show." A small grin spread across your features when you saw the dolphin return to your side. Levi had joined you in the water and he interacted with the dolphin like he had been doing it all his life.

"She even likes Erwin and he never goes into the water deeper than up to his waist." He said with a bored tone like usual as all his attention was still focussed on the dolphin in front of him that whistled cheerfully. The raven-haired diver stroked the creature's head affectionately, with his free hand he reached for yours. "Here," he looked you in the eyes "it's fine. The brat doesn't bite." 

Hesitantly you placed your hand in his, it was pleasantly warm and you had to mentally stop yourself from thinking that he might have just done it as an excuse to hold your hand. You only imagined stupid perfect love story scenarios and had to stop doing it, especially with Levi since you figured it would be weird with a guy you knew for only a couple of months. Slowly but surely, Levi led your hand to the awaiting dolphin that still playfully nudged him from time to time. You drew in a shaky breath when he let your hand go just as you were about to pet the creature's head, of course you would have to do it yourself. 

In a way Levi was trying to help you with his actions. He didn't have a single clue if it actually worked, but he wanted you to like the dolphin if you didn't already. People always laughed at him for liking the creature so much, they called him feminine or stupid or whatever. But honestly, he didn't give a single fuck about people's opinions or the stereotypes they apparently connected to liking dolphins. When he saw you slowly pet the jolly dolphin's head the tiniest smile tugged at his lips. It seemed that he was able to do at least something right as well. He was so focused on the sight in front of him that he hadn't heard you laugh.

"Hah! I can't believe I'm doing this!" You smiled brightly, so proud at yourself. You had never really feared dolphins but things were always different than you expected in real life, at the moment you had feared the peaceful creature quite a bit and you felt guilty because of it. Looking over to Levi to see his reaction at your success he surprised you. A genuinely happy expression was on his face, for as far as he could manage but more importantly it was directed to you. And you didn't know if he had ever done such a thing before. Before you could even blink, he moved and in the next instance you were hit with some water in the face. Scrunching your face up because of the salty water in your eyes and mouth you made a sound of disapproval.

"You looked like a fucking fish gaping at me like that. I needed to fix it." He simply stated.

"Right, my knight in shining armor was only fulfilling his duty." You sighed as you flicked the seawater out of your eyes and tucked your wet strands of hair behind your ears.

"Exactly- "

The distracted Ackerman had no idea what hit him when you suddenly made a weird gesture, he was the next one up to be drenched in the salty water of the ocean. He only closed his eyes, annoyed. Mostly because his neatly parted hair had gotten messed up but also because he would have been able to see this coming. An aggravated sigh left his mouth as he just kept standing there, he looked like a drenched dog with his bangs sticking to his face in front of his eyes and you couldn't help but burst into laughter.

"HA! You have no idea how ridiculous you look right now- "

"Levi, (First)! Where are you? Dinner is ready so eat before it gets cold!" Erwin's yelling interrupted your laughing fit.

"Ugh, he sounds like a mom." You sighed and started to make your way out of the water, abandoning Levi and his favorite dolphin. While waiting for him to get his hair out of his face and saying goodbye to the brat you yelled at Erwin that the two of you were on your way.

* * *

"Guess who's back!" Isabel cheered and unexpectedly hugged you, you laughed a little bit uncomfortably but hugged her back nevertheless. Farlan greeted you the same way but a little less sudden than Isabel. It was good to see the two.

Once again the five of you took a seat at the table outside, the sun was setting and things had been rather boring since your job from the day before so you were glad the energetic duo had joined you. Isabel was chatting away about the customers she and Farlan had had and told you the weirdest things about them while Farlan and Levi seemed to be catching up. You had already noticed from day one that Farlan, Isabel and Levi had a special kind of relationship and even though they told you how they knew each other you couldn't help but think that their relationship was a lot deeper than one would think at first. Erwin returned from the cabin where the tablet had been safely kept and gently put it down on the table.

"So, this was the lapis lazuli tablet Levi and (First) found in Reiss Castle." He explained to Farlan and Isabel that immediately scooted closer to the table upon seeing the object. Farlan picked the tablet up with utmost precision, not knowing how fragile it could be.

"Any other details we need to know of?" Farlan questioned and his gray eyes shifted between you and Levi.

"It laid in a secret, heavily protected room and it almost cost us our lives." Maybe that explanation from your side was a little too short since Isabel and Farlan paused for a moment and just blinked at you.

"Right and no one felt the need to tell us." Farlan nonchalantly said.

"Oh- it's not- I didn't mean to- "

"You should shut up." Levi said as he placed a hand on your shoulder and you did so to keep yourself from embarrassing you any further.

"It was a security system made by princess Reiss to keep people from stealing her treasure, we got out alive and unharmed of course, but we thought it might be valuable since the princess had it safely stored away like that." The raven-haired man said.

"Sounds stressful." You couldn't believe what you heard, you weren't sure if you were the only one but Farlan managed to pinpoint whatever Levi must have been feeling in any situation. By now you were almost certain that the two of them shared a special bond, you decided you'd ask Farlan about it later since you were still set on getting to know everyone better even though a couple of months had passed on Maria Island already.

"But hey, these engravings or whatever seem a bit strange, don't they?" Isabel said, turning her head to Farlan in confirmation. His pale eyes scanned the tablet and he sighed.

"I'm sorry guys but it doesn't seem like anything we're able to figure out." The man said.

"Wait- aren't we forgetting something?" You said and turned your head to Erwin and Levi to see if they were thinking the same thing as you, which they apparently weren't. "Mike called this an Okeanos tablet, from this ancient civilization uhh... I can't recall how they were named." 

"Right," Erwin piped "the salvager mentioned the Okeanides." 

“So, the Okeanides actually, that rings a bell. I’ve heard something about this somewhere recently. “ Farlan said.

“Of course, Professor Zoë!” Isabel suddenly yelled. 

“I’m pretty sure she was studying the language of the Okeanides.” The male next to her mentioned.

“Professor Zoë? Who’s that?” Was what you asked the duo.

“She’s a genius oceanographer. Well, not just that. She has degrees in biology, mechanical engineering, archeology. She’s got pretty much everything! She came over from Japan to do a guest lecture at my university!” Said Isabel. “So you could say I have connections to high places!” 

“What is she doing now?” Levi asked.

“She works at an aquarium in Japan. I think she’s their vet.” The redheaded girl held a finger to her chin to emphasize she was thinking.

“A vet?” You exclaimed.

“Well, it’s linked to her research on marine life.” Farlan quickly explained.

“What an unusual person. So, what should we do?” Erwin asks you and Levi.

“We don’t really have a choice, do we? We’ve got to go to Japan and meet her!” You said.

* * *


	11. Chapter 11

The biggest aquarium in the world was just about to be opened and it was where you had arrived just now. Isabel had, miraculously, managed to get in contact with the place prof Zoë worked in right now and you envied the unknown professor. The fish tanks looked huge and you were sure they could even display whales in them if they wanted to. But thinking about all those matters kind of drove you insane since the flight had been horrendously long again and you wondered how you were even alive. The large aquarium was deserted and the three of you wandered around aimlessly until you spotted a woman in front of the window to look at the Marine Life Annex.

"Excuse me," Erwin started as the three of you neared the woman, "we are looking for Professor Zoë." The gentle giant asked with his kind smile.

“And you are?” She asks. The woman was fairly tall and wore glasses, some strands of her messy hair stuck out of her bun and her bangs framed her face nicely. You were sure that if she would get a makeover that she would look amazing, even though she already did.

“My name is Erwin Smith, of S&A Diving Service. Isabel Magnolia has contacted the professor to say we would come visit.”

“So, you are S&A Diving Service? I got her message about you. What do you want to know?” She said.

“Well, we are looking for Professor Zoë.” Erwin says again. Sadly, the tall man didn't have a single clue that he was already right in front of the professor. It was almost painful to keep watching his obliviousness and you heard Levi sigh next to you.

“You are speaking to her. I am Professor Hanji Zoë. I am in charge of the animal welfare here, selecting species to display, installing enclosures and many other things.” The woman, now known as Professor Zoë, grinned.

“You’re so young to be a professor..." You gaped in awe. 

“(First) I swear to god” Levi threatens you, not wanting to embarrass himself any further for coming here with the two of you.

“It’s okay. Actually, I’d already heard about you. You’re the ones who found Reiss Castle in Ciceros Strait! I read about it in a journal, it sounded like a great adventure!” She says, suddenly really excited.

“So, you must be the superdiver I’ve heard so much about.” Hanji turned to you.

“Superdiver? Me? You mean Levi-“

“You are skilled with hi-tech equipment and have no fear of dangerous animals, and your finely honed skills and intuition allowed you to get the better of the famous salvager MZ. S&A Diving Service’s superdiver, (First)! At least that’s what I read in the article.” The professor squealed in excitement as she rambled about what she heard of you.

“What article? And I really think you’re talking about Levi, I didn’t even know how to properly dive like, a month ago. And he thought me everything. Also, the part about not being scared is not really true. Plus it was pure coincidence that-“

“Accept the damn compliments, brat. Erwin may or may not have bragged about you in interviews.” Levi sighs.

“Levi doesn’t like the attention anyways and well...” Erwin trailed off, you only gave him a stare as to say 'are you kidding me?!'.

“Anyways, that’s not what you're here for. You had something to ask me?” Hanji says.

"Well," Levi started, "we found an Okeanos tablet in Reiss Castle and we heard that you might be the only one who's able to decipher it." was what he quickly summarized.

“An Okeanos Tablet? So that’s what you want me to look at. Mmm, fascinating! You have my full attention! I should be able to decipher it for you if I can find the time.” Hanji thinks with a finger to her chin but a wicked smile on her face. A stranger suddenly entered the room.

“Professor Zoë! I was looking for you!” A nervous voice called.

“Oh, mister Armin Arlert. I didn’t think you’d come down here.” The professor laughed.

“I was looking everywhere for you! Why do you always have to disappear the second I turn my back? And who are these people?” The young blonde seemed annoyed and in a hurry.

“We asked her to decipher an Okeanos Tablet.” Levi said, clearly agitated.

“Decipher an Okeanos tablet? Absolutely not! I’ve already asked the professor to concentrate on other work. Please, professor! We don’t have much time left before we open the aquarium!” The young man named Armin pleaded to the professor.

“What kind of work is it?” Levi asked.

“All kinds of things,” the blonde sighed “For a start, I’ve asked the professor to go to the arctic to carry out research on the life and habitat of polar bears.”

“If that’s all, we can go to the arctic in her place while she deciphers the tablet.” Levi suggested, he was showing his determined side again to make sure he’d get closer to solving the mystery of the Song of Dragons.

“You’d go instead of the professor? That’s…”

“No problem for S&A Diving Service, discoverers of the find of the century!” You butted in with a grin.

“Well, I don’t really know… Is that all right with you, Professor?” Armin asked Hanji.

“It’s not a problem for me. I’m actually more interested in this tablet.” Professor Zoë admits with a smile.

“All right then, here’s what I want you to do: Go to the Arctic, find a polar bear and observe it as closely as you can. Which means that you should, of course, think about your own safety as you do it. I want to put a polar bear on display here in the aquarium, so I need as much data as you can get.”

“Sure! Right, guys?” You said and looked at the two males accompanying you. They nodded.

“Leave the Okeanos Tablet to me, I’ll have it deciphered before you get back from the Arctic. I’m a genius, after all. Have a safe trip!” Hanji excitedly said and waved the three of you goodbye as you left.

* * *

The Northern Coast of Canada.

_"This area of the east Coast of Ward Hunt Island is frozen all year round. Polar Bears and Seals make their home on the vast fields of drift ice, while a wide variety of marine life forms an ecosystem beneath. The ice floes have pushed together to form a solid ice sheet here, but there is still an ocean below. You can see polar bears and seals here all year yound, but human visitors are a rarity. The Canadian government has banned hunting here, but the danger of thin ice does just as good a job of keeping hunters away. Thanks to the protected status of this area, you can see belugas, narwhals, and whales here."_

You recalled the article you had read online about the area you were in right now. Before you had headed out on a big secure boat to travel across the cold waters of the arctic, Erwin had handed you and Levi special wetsuits to put on under your clothing. He said that there would always be a possibility that the two of you would have to dive and this would keep you warmer than usual even if diving wouldn't be necessary. An old man by the name of Dott Pixis was the captain of the boat you were allowed to travel with and he made sure to bring you three to a safe location in the water to see if there were any polar bears around. After half an hour of traveling, the boat came to a halt and Dott told you that this was a fine place to look over all the ice floes.

“So, this drift ice region is where we should be able to find polar bears...” Erwin started.

“It’s amazing, it feels like the whole area is covered with a big carpet of ice. So what’s the plan? Walk over the ice and look for a  polar bear?” You questioned as you fawned over the beautiful view. 

“Bad idea. The Arctic ice grows thinner every year due to the effects of global warming, so I suspect walking across would be dangerous.” The blonde man sighed as he pulled his wooly hat further over his ears.

“Then I guess we’ll just have to dive.” Levi said.

“Better idea. If I see a polar bear from the boat, I’ll let you know. You can swim to the spot and go ashore through one of the ice holes.” Erwin smiled gently and rubbed his hands together that were kept warm by a big pair of mittens. 

“But what about the icy-cold water?” You wondered.

“You should be fine with these dry suits I prepared for you earlier. They won’t offer total protection, however, as the water temperature will be sub-zero. Compared to the other areas you have dived in, you will lose energy more quickly and your air usage will increase.” Erwin explained, your gaze shifted to something moving in the distance though.

“What is it?” Levi asked.

“A polar bear!” 

“Sacrebleu…” Levi muttered under his breath as he followed your gaze and spotted the polar bear.

“Well that didn’t take very long.” Erwin laughed. “I’d say it’s due north-west of here. Luckily for us, there’s a large ice hole right around there, I saw it on the map. It also looks like the ice is thick enough for you to go ashore there, but it only looks like that from this distance of course so, be careful. I suggest you set off right away and take a look.” 

* * *

The cold water hit your skin and you shivered and closed your eyes at the sensation, this was so much different than diving in the comfortable Gatama Atoll. When you blinked your eyes open there was only an eerie shade of blue visible, when you looked up the white ice blinded you so you decided to look down. That proved to be an even worse idea as there was nothing but an seemingly endless darkness, it felt as if something lethal would jump you from the deep at any second. You were glad that this was a dive that would soon be over. Next to you you saw Levi checking the compass on his wrist and he turned to, what you guessed was the right direction.

“This is Erwin, how is it down there?” Was heard from over the radio.

“Cold as fuck but manageable, we’ll have to be quick though.” Your raven-haired diving partner said in his microphone.

Turning towards the north-west you and Levi didn’t stop for anything to make sure this wouldn’t go wrong. As much as you wanted to inspect the [Ribbon Seals](http://www.birdsandwildlife.com/img/s5/v131/p872466984-2.jpg)swimming around or the [Narwhals](http://minnesota.publicradio.org/events/2013/11/a-beautiful-world/images/Narwhal3.jpg)you could see in the distance, you had to move on for this mission to succeed.

A beautiful area was reached where the Ice had broken up into hundreds of little pieces that floated closely to each other on the surface of the water and created an extraordinary view and made the bright light from above shine in the water in beautiful streaks. Levi noticed how you slacked and slowed down to snap you out of it.

“Hey brat, we have to get moving. If we have time left you can inspect it on the way back. It’s what they call an ice mosaic.” You didn't reply but only follow him further through the cold, clear water. He was also mentally thanked by you for giving you at least a little information on the gorgeous sight you had to pass in a hurry, it really was miraculous how he knew almost everything.

After swimming for a while you wondered how long it had been since you had left the boat. In reality it was only about seven minutes, to you it felt like half an hour had passed or more. Swimming in the cool water was more taxing than you had expected, even when Erwin had warned you you were worn out already and you had almost reached the ice hole. But you were already reluctant to swim back. When you swam past a particularly small iceberg that stuck a few meters under the water Levi almost lunged at you to stop you from swimming, he was careful not to touch the equipment but still held your waist securely with one arm. Then you saw what he had stopped you for.

“A Greenland shark. Beware, they have a lot in common with great whites. It’s a terrifying creature capable of swallowing a seal whole, or a reindeer without antlers. There aren’t any reports of it attacking humans but we don’t want to make it feel like it’s being threatened… We don’t have the time to subdue it, we have to move past it and quick!”

The [Greenland Shark](http://www.worldatlas.com/upload/68/1f/f7/greenland-shark.jpg) was one of the largest beasts you had ever seen beside Thanatos, it was almost seven meters long. It terrified you and almost froze you into place as it swam slowly in the dark waters. It looked calm, so why were you scared? Maybe because Levi just had to go and tell you all those things. You swallowed the upcoming lump in your throat as the creature moved past you like you were nothing but a mere iceberg, it was by far one of the most terrifying things that had ever happened in your life. At that moment it had only been distanced from you a couple of centimeters. Levi hesitantly tugged you along when it had been a few seconds since that the shark had passed you. Deciding that it would only fuel your anxiety if you looked back, you focussed on Levi.

"We're here!" You heard him say, he sounded relieved and so were you. 

The ice hole looked like a dark spot in between the shining layers of ice, you remembered what your parents had taught you when you went skating on a lake in the winter for the first time: _"If you ever fall through the ice and no one is nearby to help you, look for a dark ice hole and don't try to find the light."_ It turned out that they had been right all along. The two of you were about to try to find a way to get on the ice you noticed tiny things floating around near the opening in the ice. They looked like little pieces of ice that had maybe broken off but as you looked closer, the tiny beings were nothing close to that.

"Levi, what are these?" He groaned at your question.

"We need to hurry up, we won't have enough air for the way back if we keep stalling." Levi turned to you as he said so.

"But they're so cute, just tell me what they're called!" You argued.

"[Sea Angels](https://userscontent2.emaze.com/images/8fd56e8d-9820-4461-a83a-ffda778c732c/ce354ff13a3f282e0a810902440dbcca.jpeg). Now let's go." One last look at the animals that were almost too tiny to see and you were off, following Levi to climb on the ice and hoping that it would be thick enough to stand on.

Levi was successful to get on the ice first, you followed him and he pulled you up to help you. The only thing you pulled off were your goggles and oxygen mask, just in case you had to make a quick escape into the water. In the distance you sighted the [Polar Bear](http://www.canadapolarbears.com/images/slideshow/polar-bear-viewing-tours-churchill-manitoba.jpg), it was much more impressive up close. Of course, the animal was still a big distance away from you, no one wanted to risk anything this investigation. 

The polar bear started to act strange and it seemed to pound on the ice to find a seals ice hole, unfortunately for the polar bear it had no luck catching a seal. Observing the creature for some longer time it seemed that you had gotten all the information down that Mister Arlert had asked of you and you made your way to return to the boat. 

With that you were headed to Japan once again.

* * *

“I read your report on the Polar Bear!” Armin said excitedly, “It’s fascinating to read something that doesn’t come from wikipedia, especially reading about its hunting techniques! I think it was a smart move to trust this task to S&A Diving Service. So, maybe I can ask you to take on some more work as well. You see, there’s a job I absolutely can’t refuse, but I have to get some time off my curating position here to take it. For someone to be a good aquarium curator they need unparalleled knowledge of the sea and above all, a flair for presentation. You’re the only ones I can think of who might be able to do this so that I can take some time off for my job! So, what do you say? Would you guys be interested in acting as the curator for all the exhibits in this aquarium?” 

It was a big job and something you definitely needed to think about, S&A Diving Service was a busy company and the three of you had the mystery of the Song of Dragons to solve as well. After a while  of thinking Erwin agreed, saying it would benefit the company as long as it wouldn’t take too much of the company's time. Armin mentioned it could be done from your own location and that you didn't have to worry about other things than managing the exhibits. The young marine life fanatic thanked the three of you.

“We’re almost getting too famous now…” You rubbed the back of your neck.

“What about professor Zoë though?” Levi crossed his arms and he looked at the blonde that visibly stiffened under his harsh stare.

“S- She is currently busy deciphering it but should be done soon. Why don’t you help out with curating first? She will probably be done by the time we have selected the creatures we want on display!” He nervously said as he clutched both hands together in front of his white lab coat.

Arming taught you the basics of curating, showing the three of you the huge main tank, the largest one in the aquarium. It’s made of tempered acrylic and is the centerpiece of the whole building. It’s the largest tank of the world, so huge that even a blue whale would fit in there. All medium and large aquatic creatures can be displayed in there. The Small World Gallery is a display for the smaller animalism, the creatures living in coral or others that are hard to see can be looked at in there. These creatures are very sensitive so they were divided into tanks based on their environments. The last area of the aquarium is the Marine Life Annex, animals that also live on land are displayed there, like seals or penguins.

After Erwin, Levi and you had made a selection of various animals that would be on display in the aquarium Armin thanked you once again. It wasn't really hard to select what marine life the public would be seeing, just the usual popular fish and of course dolphins were loved by the people. Armin said that there will be trainers hired to do shows too. Even though you disliked the idea of all these beautiful creatures living in a tank filled with water, things were as they were. Levi and Erwin didn't seem all too fond of doing this job either but they just thought about the fact that it was getting the company and themselves somewhere. To be honest, the thought of getting closer to the secret of the Song of Dragons was fueling you so much that you were fine with doing this. 

At last the three of you were done and sat back in an office in the big building of the aquarium, suddenly the door opened and revealed an almost maniacally grinning professor. It seemed that she had been successful.

* * *

 


	12. Chapter 12

“So I’ve finished deciphering your Okeanos tablet. I must say that the contents are utterly fascinating. It is without doubt the most intriguing of all the Okeanos tablets that have been found so far.”

“Cut to the fucking chase, shitty glasses, what does it say?” Levi growled.

“I’m sorry for his bahavior…” Erwin muttered.

“His patience isn’t the best indeed.” You sighed.

“The treasure of Pacifica sleeps with the Queen behind the bronze door in the abyss. The fissure filled by the circular ocean shows the way to the Queen’s tomb. Offer the flutes to the sun of morning, noon and night and the dragon’s song will open the gates to inheritance.” She read from a paper she brought with her. "That’s all. Does that mean anything to you?” Hanji questioned.

“You said dragon’s song, it’s on this tablet as well?” A surprised reaction came from your side.

“If I remember correctly, you said you were researching the Song of Dragons. The phrase dragon’s song appears on many of these so-called Okeanos tablets, which are believed to have been created by a mysterious ancient ocean-faring civilization. This is probably the origin of the legends of the Song of Dragons found throughout the world. Which means that when you unravel the truth behind the Song of Dragons, the treasure of Pacifica will be revealed. It’s quite simple, really.” The professor said.

“This Pacifica treasure stuff sounds like the real deal, right?” You wondered.

“It must be something that the Okeanides left behind. According to the tablet, it appears to be a tomb of some sort sunk in the sea.” Professor Zoë explains.

“So it is what Kenny had been looking for, is this what he wanted to tell me about?” Levi asked more to himself than anyone else really.

“No, you must stop this Levi. I will not let you get involved any further with the Pacifica Treasure!” Erwin suddenly said. It came as a surprise to almost everyone in the room. It had been weird, Erwin was so supportive of the search for the Song of Dragons and the Pacifica Treasure that was linked to it and now he acted like this!

“Why not?” Levi’s monotone voice sounded colder than ever before.

“Kenny’s obsession with the Pacifica Treasure ruined his life and you damn well know it!” 

“But he believed it exists!” Levi snapped back.

“Sadly, yes. And that was the death of him, in the end. He was such a fool…”

“How dare you fucking talk about him like that!” The dark-haired man snarled, clenching his fists.

“And you,” Erwin’s ice cold stare bore into your (Eye Color) irises, “you too will meet the same fate if you chase after these legends any further!”

“I want to know the truth.” You said seriously.

“Exactly,” Levi argued “I feel the same way.” Since Erwin was in control of the money of S&A Diving Service there was no way you would be able to get anything done without him, he was the one who paid for all the flights and other things you needed on your journey after all.

“I want to solve the riddle of the Song of Dragons.” Levi continued, passion burned in his pale eyes.

“What?” Erwin said, confused as if Levi hadn’t pointed such a thing out already.

“I felt it at Reiss Castle too, the truth is out there in the sea. I want to keep going until I find the truth! Kenny may have been fucking obsessed or whatever, but I’m not him. I’ll be fine. It’s not like it’s the only thing I’m doing, and if I don’t find any clues I’ll just stop looking.” He said.

“Then there’s nothing more to say. There are no more clues, are there?” Erwin snapped back at him. It was horribly uncomfortable to watch the men argue, not to mention that professor Zoë was still in the room with you three.

“Well…” Levi trailed off, his fighting spirit ever so alive but he knew he was losing this argument.

“You do have one clue.” The serious voice of professor Hanji Zoë sounded.

“Really?” You said in disbelief.

“The legend of the Song of Dragons, the mysterious song that brings bad luck. There are recent reports of the Song of Dragons being heard with increasing frequency at sea.” The brunette said as she pushed her glasses up on the bridge of her nose.

“Really? Where?” Levi asked in a hurry.

“In the Weddell Sea, an area of 2.8 million square kilometers spread between Coats Land and the Antarctic Peninsula. The sea is full of icebergs, with Special Iceberg A-sm 16p as its center. Personally, I have a great interest in this Song of Dragons. From a purely scientific perspective, of course. I would like to participate in your investigation, if you don’t object. I also want to know the truth.” Now it was three against one. Erwin couldn’t possibly refuse this way, not when a world famous professor just offered to work with S&A Diving Service, and knowing Erwin he would do anything to benefit the company.

“Isn’t this a good idea?” You hopefully said.

“Well, it’s hard to argue now. And some experience of working in the Antarctic will surely benefit the company. But remember,” He shot a warning look at both you and Levi “there his a point at which you must retreat.”

“We are aware.” Levi smirked and you exchanged a victorious look.

* * *

Weddell Sea, The Antarctic Ocean.

Located between the Antarctic Peninsula and Coats Land, this region is still relatively unknown with new species being discovered every year. The current bring a plentiful supply of plankton and whales are known to come there to feed.

“That giant iceberg you can see over there is Special Iceberg A-sm 16p.” Hanji mentioned as she pointed at a particularly large iceberg nearby.

“I thought the antarctic would be the same as the arctic, but it’s really not.” You said.

“Indeed, that is because the arctic is an ice floe region, but the antarctic is an iceberg region.” Erwin said.

“And the difference is?”

“Well, ice floe is created when the sea freezes due to extreme cold, whereas icebergs are huge chunks of ice, mostly formed on the antarctic continent that have broken off and are floating in the sea. To sum up, while the majority of ice floes tend to be flat, with icebergs, the greater part of them is often concealed beneath the surface of the sea.” It really did seem like the the blonde knew everything.

“Wow, I’d love to dive and take a closer look! But I expect the water is freezing cold, just like it was in the Arctic. And since we’re planning to conduct a marine survey this time, we’ve got hypothermia to consider too.” A deepening frown was stretching across your features as you said those words.

“Actually, do you remember that wax I spoke about to you all earlier? Take the rest of it, you'll need it.” The energetic brunette said.

“What is this stuff you apply to your skin?” Erwin questioned.

“It’s a special diving wax called AAP Wax, that industrial divers use to retain heat in cold waters. Now if you go apply the wax to your bodies and put on dry suits, we should be able to dive for hours, even if the temperature is below zero.” She smiled.

“How times have changed. Divers definitely have it easy nowadays!” Erwin laughed and shook his head.

“Okay, let’s go do this and then we’re totally prepared for the cold!” You grinned.

The little boat you entered the Antarctic with only had one separate cabin, so it took some time before you would be able to dive. Hanji had already told you that she had applied the wax to her body beforehand so that only you and Levi were the only ones who still needed to apply it. You were the first to go into the cabin. The wax was sticky and greasy but when you spread it across your skin you could feel it heating up, it really did keep your body heat in place. The effect of it would be amplified by the dry suits that Erwin had gotten you the week before to dive at the North Coast of Canada. You felt confident about this dive, you really felt like things were progressing nicely. Now that the famous professor had joined S&A Diving Service to help out with the Song of Dragons you felt like she could solve anything that the three of you could not. It was like a dream team had formed! 

You were just finishing up with the wax and put your dry suit back on. Outside you would pull your equipment on since you couldn't keep Levi waiting, he had to apply the wax also. Even though it took a lot of time, it was necessary for your safety and because of that you didn't mind if everyone just took all the time they needed to make sure they were entirely protected. The Antarctic was magnificent but it scared you too, in a different way than the waters of the Arctic but it still did. And then there was also the anxiety of not knowing what was waiting for you down there, the professor had already explained that there were no actual harmful creatures down there but animals in the wild were always unpredictable. A bang on the door startled you and it snapped you out of your thoughts. 

"When are you done? I'm freezing my ass off." Levi yelled. With a groan you fiddled with the zipper of your dry suit, and of course it had to get stuck right now in an awkward situation on your lower back. With your arms in an uncomfortable position behind your back you groaned in discomfort and tried to tug the zipper up again, but unfortunately no such thing worked.

"So uhh," You started to say with a raised voice so that Levi could hear it, you were already hating yourself for asking him this out of all people "my zipper got stuck. Help me." Even though he wouldn't see anything but your back, it still was kind of uncomfortable for him to help you with this. But you figured you didn't have a choice. 

The door creaked open and you heard Levi step inside with a sigh. The said man was obviously annoyed that he had to help you with something again since he always said that that was all he did. Helping you with things. And, it was probably true. 

"I'm taking my words back from the other day," He started as he swatted your hands away that were still trying to clumsily close the zipper on your back "you can't do shit right."

"Just get this over with, I didn't break this thing on purpose."

"It's not broken- "

"Fine, mister know it all." You sighed and heard a quick zip up your back and your dry suit was  _finally_ completely on. Turning around to leave you shot Levi a glare and he just sarcastically smirked at you.

"You wanna help me with my zipper?" He asked before you were about to open the door to leave the cabin.

"Go fuck yourself, Levi." 

* * *

“Let’s begin the survey. Lately, numerous reports have come from ships in this area claiming to have heard a mysterious sound that could be the Song of Dragons. If anything strange is lurking in this area, I’ll bet Special Iceberg A-sm 16p is the key. I’ll come with you for this survey. Maybe my expertise will come in handy.” Professor Zoë explained as all of you carefully listened to her words. Everyone, except for Erwin of course, was fully equipped with the right diving gear and was ready to go.

Hanji was the first to enter the water and you watched as she entered the freezing sea fearlessly, you wondered if it would be the same as back in Canada down there with the eerie darkness beneath you. However, there was only one way to find out. After Levi had entered the water it was your turn and you descended down into the water via the little ladder that was attached to the back of the boat, the water hit your skin and yet it didn't make you quiver because of the cold. It was almost comfortable to be in the salty water, but you figured that that wouldn't keep up for long if you didn't keep moving. Of course, the water was still somewhat chilly on your bare face but the wax made sure you didn't completely freeze your nose and ears off. 

Now as you submerged into the waters of the Antarctic it was like you had entered a completely different world. Just as Erwin had said, the icebergs were gigantic underwater and some of them stretched down into the deep further than you could see through your goggles. You could see a lot more animal activity here already than there was at the North Coast of Canada.  Various seals swam around and although you didn't recognize the species they looked peaceful as they swam around the icebergs. [Antarctic Silverfish](http://gallery.redorbit.com/national-science-foundation-gallery/183_3b0c294f398efb5f254529fd302f6c4e.jpg)darted around and were almost too fast for you to follow, and in the distance you could see penguins! You already liked the Weddell Sea.

“Let’s start looking around.” A happy sounding brunette said as she swam around in front of you and Levi.

“How is your diving experience?” Levi asks.

“You do that now? When we just entered the water?” You scolded him.

“I’ve done little recreation diving, but I often dive as a part of my marine research. I’ve captured a great white whale seven meters long, and completed both deep dives and penetration dives. In other words, you don’t need to worry about my diving ability.” The professor said seriously.

"What's a penetration dive?" Was what you asked, genuinely interested in the topic.

"Penetration dives are expeditions where you investigate shipwrecks and enter them, you call it penetration diving since you're entering shipwrecks and gathering whatever information or items you need." Professor Zoë said.

 _"Isn't it about time that the three of you will be on your way?"_ Erwin spoke over the radio.

"Yeah, yeah. Lead the way, shitty glasses." Levi said and the professor turned around to advance through the waters, she didn't seem bothered by the nickname Levi had given her at all.

Swimming through the Weddell Sea wasn't as bad as you had thought, you had actually expected that it would be just as terrifying as diving in Canada but it was the complete opposite. Over here, the darkness of the deep sea didn't scare you. The whole area carried an atmosphere of peacefulness and gave you a calm feeling, you wouldn't mind coming here more often. Some seals curiously looked at the unknown visitors passing them and you stared at the wonderful creatures as well. 

Levi tapped you on your shoulder as the two of you still followed wherever Hanji was leading you. "Look down." And you did so without question. There in the deep dark of the Weddell Sea swam a group of [Antarctic Minkle Whales](http://pixdaus.com/files/items/pics/9/75/254975_def95989bf82573c130505e0947d2343_large.jpg), it looked like they were planning to get back to the surface for air. You would have loved to wait and see how the graceful creatures would ascend to the surface and dive back far down to continue whatever they had been doing before, but Hanji called for a turn to the right around a big iceberg and you lost them out of sight when you were around the corner. You pondered about thanking Levi for telling you the whales were down there, but before you could say anything you heard the professor her voice over the radio.

“This huge block of ice right in front of us is Special Iceberg A-sm 16p. Do you see the holes in the iceberg?” As you inspected the huge iceberg you could spot a few holes and caverns. “They are called ice caves. I’m not sure what made them, but it could be animal activity or possibly erosion. There is also a long fissure on the south side, I wonder how far it continues down the iceberg. Let’s go and find out, shall we?”

But before the three of you could move a muscle you heard a sound. An odd and eerie sound was what it was, it was scary and sounds like the sound you heard in Reiss castle, but a little different and higher pitched.

“What’s that sound? It couldn’t be the Song of Dragons, could it? It sounded like it came from the iceberg…” A look of mixed feelings was shared between you and Levi, both of you didn't know if you should be scared or excited to get closer to the truth.

“Let’s follow the sound, we might find something.” Levi suggested.

The sound seemed to be coming from the south-west so that was where you headed. On your way there you had to go around the iceberg, a group of [Adelie Penguins](http://www.rsb.org.uk/images/blog/penguin-1.jpg)darted around and jumped in or out of the water, disappearing out of the sea or going back in. At last you, Levi and Hanji arrived at the opposite side of Special Iceberg A-sm 16p. The sound kept being heard and it seemed to be coming from somewhere deeper than where you were right now, at least that was what Hanji had told the two of you.

You dived deeper and came across multiple ice caves, all leading to nothing except for one that seemed to be deeper than the rest. Maybe it was a tunnel leading to a larger chamber inside. You guessed that you were currently around forty-five meters deep into the water, you made a mental note to be careful about going back up because of the pressure.

“Perhaps we can find the truth about your Song of Dragons in here!” Hanji yelled 

“There is only one way to find out, let’s keep going.” Levi said and led the way into the ice cavern.

* * *

 


	13. Chapter 13

“Who would have thought that this tunnel would go on so far? Finally, an open space!” The professor squealed as more and more mysterious places were found.

A beautiful open space was revealed, it wasn't huge but it was a big enough space for the three of you to fit in with ease. Ice crystals decorated the sides of the cave and ice pillars supported the 'ceiling', then you saw that the three of you were not alone in the ice cavern. 

"Oh, look, a [Leopard Seal](https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/originals/60/dc/d2/60dcd23c22b1e659ec487999487d5012.jpg). I wonder what it’s doing here, maybe it got lost. The leopard seal is a large carnivorous predator native to the antarctic. It’s an incredibly strong animal with sharp fangs, and hunts down penguins and other seals for food. It has an aggressive nature, so it’s definitely not a safe animal to be around. Although this one seems to be fairly calm at the moment, so we shouldn’t have to worry.” Professor Zoë explained.

Above there seemed to be another tunnel leading somewhere, but it had frozen ice pillars in front of it. It looked like too much for human or even dolphin strength to break through. But the three of you knew that the sound had come from the other side. 

“The Song of Dragons came from the other side, I think.” Hanji said.

“But the way is blocked by those ice pillars. We need to do something to break through the ice barrier.” You argued.

“You’re the superdiver, aren’t you? Can’t you do something?” Hanji said and Levi audibly sighed in his microphone. He was clearly annoyed.

“There must be a way…” She heard you mutter.

“Must be, my intuition tells me that this is the only way forwards though.”

“And my intuition tells me that you’re shitty, stop being a high and mighty know it all and let us fix this.” Levi groaned and tried his best not to lose his temper too much.

Not even the genius professor Zoë had a solution to this problem in a second so you figured it would take some time to find out how to get past the ice pillars. After thinking and pondering on whatever could get you through, Levi started to get bored as he swam around to find a solution. He had a dolphin whistle with him in one of his pouches at all times just because he hung out with the dolphin at Maria Island so much. At one point, he didn't really mind about what he was doing and blew it by carefully removing his mouthpiece as he awaited a reaction from maybe, a nearby dolphin. But instead of that, the leopard seal seemed startled and felt threatened because of the sound and it charged at him. It was quick and Levi barely managed to swim aside, you recalled your humpback whale attack and it was somewhat similar. But the leopard seal missed him and hit its head on the ice pillars that shattered under its destructive power. 

“No way, you used the seals strength! I would have never thought of that! Maybe you should be called the ultradiver!” Hanji said in awe, but both you and Levi knew that this had never been his intention. He couldn't have known how the leopard seal would react to the sound, Levi had just been fooling around a bit and happened to get lucky.

“He’d finally get the credit he deserves.” You chuckled and glanced his way. The raven-haired diver already seemed to want to keep going and explore where the opened tunnel would lead.

The tunnel was entered and it didn’t get narrower, it seemed that it really had been a passage. The tunnel slowly led upwards and above you, you found a big chamber inside of the iceberg. Held up by ice pillars connecting to the top of the iceberg. Shards of ice glimmered in the pale blue water and fish swam around in the open space. It seemed that the three of you had really reached the heart of the iceberg since it looked like it was possible to get above the water level and still be inside of the cave at the same time. 

“It’s amazing that a cavern like this exists inside the iceberg. It must have been created by animals and natural erosion when this massive iceberg was still part of the antarctic ice shelf. It then became submerged when the iceberg was formed.” The professor muttered to herself, of course she would be searching for an explanation behind everything she laid her eyes upon.

And odd sound was heard repeatedly, but not the creepy sound from before, it sounded clearer. A [Spectacled Porpoise](https://userscontent2.emaze.com/images/d03d0efc-8ce8-4dee-a25b-a184b1ec7980/748566aa-9ccb-4a8c-b071-e8125c145ef4.png)was seen swimming around in the iceberg, maybe it had been stuck here.

“Was it that spectacled porpoise’s call reverberating around the ice cavern? Which means that the Song of Dragons we heard before was…” Levi interrupted the professor.

“The porpoise.” He said, clearly disappointed.

“The structure of this underwater cavern seems to cause sounds to reverberate in a complex way. The principle is the same as the sea whistle Levi carries, or indeed any whistle. Except this one is entirely natural.” Hanji started. “That porpoise must have come lost and wandered in here, then became trapped and unable to make its way out again. So what we heard wasn’t the Song of Dragons, but the porpoise’s distress signal. It’s doesn't seem hurt, just extremely fatigued.” 

“Why don’t we try to do something for it with the pulsar’s healing function?” You suggested and looked over to Levi for approval.

"Your idea, you do it." He said in his usual monotone voice.

You carefully approached the slowly moving porpoise, it did seem tired. The pulsar's healing function wasn't more than some simple electromagnetic pulses but they did miraculous things for fish that were fatigued or mildly diseased. Thinking about how many shots the porpoise needed you came to the conclusion that three was enough. The dolphin didn't move around quickly so aiming and successfully hitting your target wasn't hard. It seemed to be confused for a bit, but then the dolphin had found its new energy and immediately swam up to you to inspect you. Apparently that was a thing most dolphins seemed to do, they were curious creatures after all. The porpoise seemed to like you and followed you around like the dolphin around Maria Island would.

“I think this investigation is over for now, let’s head back to the boat.” Levi said.

Then, a strange frightening sound was heard, exactly the same as the one you heard back in Reiss Castle. The dolphin immediately fled through the tunnel. You snapped your head to Levi to see if he was thinking the same thing.

“Listen!” Levi said.

“It sounds like it’s coming from outside of the iceberg but also from the inside at the same time! Let’s exit the iceberg and see if anything is happening, there clearly isn't anything here.” Hanji said and you followed in silence.

The route back through both tunnels was taken, the white blinding ice was passed in what seemed like a blur. The room with the leopard seal was passed and when you finally were almost out you saw it, a [Blue Whale](http://cdn.newsapi.com.au/image/v1/c34e60feff57a5d33790ef49aea981b6?width=1024).

“A blue whale, what a rare sight! There are very few blue whales in the antarctic. But it’s hardly a dragon, is it?” The professor's bubbly voice was heard in your earpiece.

“I can’t hear the Song of Dragons anymore…” You muttered, disappointed in the outcome of the situation despite you getting to see a magnificent blue whale.

“But maybe we have come a bit closer to finding the truth behind this mystery, but it’s still somewhat dissapointing.” A small smile tugged at your lips at the positivity of the professor, you were sure that you would have lost hope at this moment if it wasn't for her.

 _“Anyone there? Any of you? Over!”_ Erwin’s distressed voice sounded over the radio.

“Oh, it’s Erwin.” Levi remarked. 

 _“Finally! Where were you three? I haven’t been able to get through at all! We’ve got big trouble up here. Get back fast!”_ The panic in his voice was enough to make you fear of what was happening up there.

“Our radio really is shit, we’re on our way Erwin!” The raven-haired diver said.

 _“Up here… Can’t ….. Stay…”_ the radio communication disappeared.

“What’s happening up there?” You asked, the stress now audible in your voice too.

“We need to hurry back, now!” Levi commanded.

And so the three of you swam back to the location where the boat had been. Everyone had been quiet the entire trip back, the silence was deafening. The only thing you could hear was your own heartbeat pounding in your ears and your hands were shaking because of the adrenaline. Hanji and Levi seemed focussed, you wondered how they looked so calm when they had just heard Erwin cry out like that from the boat. It was true that they were a bit older than you but not by many years, was it their experience maybe? In the time you were dwelling on your thoughts you had already reached the area of where the boat had been lying. The thee of you noticed that it had moved from its original spot quite a bit and you all wondered why. That was until you stuck your head above the water.

A horrible snowstorm raged over the Antarctic, you could only see white when you surfaced. From the little things you could see about the boat despite being close to it, a man was franticly running around and trying to save whatever the boat was losing. The sea was rough and waves crashed into you, it made you struggle to get on the boat safely and you had even fallen off a couple of times before you succeeded.

"The blizzard came out of nowhere!" Erwin yelled over the howling of the wind when everyone was on board. All of you tried to take off your equipment as fast as you could to help Erwin with managing the boat.

“It looks like a really antarctic special too, a real whiteout.” Hanji yelled back.

“If we stay here, this little boat is going to capsize! We must try to make our way back to the charter.” The blonde shouted as he held his warm hat with one hand to keep it from getting taken by the wind.

“Do you think it’s safe to try and navigate around the ice in these conditions?” You asked, almost falling over when a particularly big wave hit the boat.

“We have no choice. If we stay here, things will only get worse.” Erwin said.

“I hope you’re right, Erwin…” Levi muttered for no one to distinctively hear, but you had. A worried look flashed over your features for a couple of seconds.

But letting your guard down had been one of the biggest mistakes you had ever made. As the wind rushed along your ears and you tried to shield your eyes from the particles of snow flying around, a big wave hit the boat and you lost your footing. A shriek erupted from your throat as you stumbled backwards, your knees buckling when they hit the side of the boat and before you knew it you were falling backwards. Your hand had reached out to Levi who had watched the scene unfold next to you, right before you hit the water you felt his fingertips brush yours and the last thing you saw before you went under were his pale, widened eyes in horror.

The rumbling of the wild waters of the sea was the only thing you could hear at the moment, even though the salt pricked your eyes you opened them. Of course, you didn't have your equipment on and you couldn't see a thing without your goggles. You thought about what you had to do at that moment. Air, the first thing you needed was air. Then you could get back on board but now you needed to live first. Quickly trying to swim up to the restless surface of the water you noticed how hard it was without your flippers. You cursed everything in your head, this whole situation, the antarctic, how stupid you had been for being off guard, everything. As you gasped for air above the water you didn't have enough time to see a wave closing in on you and you got a mouth full of seawater that pushed you down under the waves again. 

You tried again, opening your eyes to look around you above the water even though your sight was blurry and you managed to get little air before being smacked back beneath the sea. If you didn't fix this soon, it wouldn't be much longer until it was too late. In the distance you had made out a vague black spot to be the boat, if you could shout for help and stick your hands up they might notice you. When you resurfaced you tried to scream for help but the words wouldn't form, it was just a desperate sound pleading for anybody to come to your aid. The sea was about to swallow you again, the wind still rushed past your ears but in the distance you could hear a faint sound.

_"(First)!!"_

With this hit of the heavy waves the wind was knocked out of you, it must have been just your imagination that someone called out your name. Was this what they meant when they say that people see and hear strange things right before they are about to die? Your limbs felt heavy, your legs were exhausted from carrying you back up the surface again and again. Was this it?

Drowning. You were drowning. Of all the ways you could have died you were going to perish doing the one thing you came to love so much. It was just as what Erwin had said, you were going to meet the same fate as Kenny by looking for the Song of Dragons. Just like him, you would never find it. The cold ocean had erased all feeling in your ungloved hands, even though the AAP wax was still on your body it was losing its function. Water filled your lungs. Suddenly, panic seeped through your systems again. This feeling of powerlessness was unbearable. You thrashed around as much as you could, trying everything to get back to the surface. 

You swam upwards, the feeling of suffocation unbearable, but you did not give up. The surface was close, so close! But your outstretched hand just didn't seem to come any closer to the blinding light. Then you were hit once again, but by a different force this time. A harsh tug at your waist was felt and suddenly you were coughing up seawater. Someone put their very being into keeping you from being drowned by the waves once more. You could only gasp and cough, clutching onto the strong arms that held you with your trembling fingers. 

Levi. It was Levi. You knew it was. But, he was in the water with you, away from the boat. Before you knew what was going on or any other thoughts could process, he pulled you along. He seemed to demand his way through the clashing waves, every time you thought this was going to be the time the two of you would get pushed under, he fought his way through. You were in too much shock to do anything, you felt bad for not moving and letting Levi do everything but you also knew that you would get in his way if you tried to help. Now that you thought about it, Levi had been right all along. 

You had underestimated the ocean. You had failed to see the force of nature that was so much bigger than yourself for what it _really_ was. And because of that you had almost died at her mercy. Then there was Levi, he had known all along. He knew the dangers the ocean holds, he had witnessed it before. That was one thing you could make out from being saved by him in the gushing sea. He had seen what it did to Kenny, Levi knew all of this. It was the only reason why he was able to pull you out of the water and take you with him. Even though the wind and snow blinded his vision he managed to swim to a near, flat iceberg that stuck out above the water. His exhausted arms managed to hoist you up, your legs still dangled in the water as you laid on the hard ice. 

Levi grunted as he pushed himself up the ice, his muscles screamed in pain and he looked over at you to see if you were still breathing. Your back faced him and he quickly pulled your shoulder to turn you over to him, he looked at your dull (Eye Color) irises and saw you shift your eyes over to him. The man broke down, cradling his head in his hands, the feeling of relief overwhelming him. This time he hadn't failed to save someone.

Levi stayed in that position for a couple of seconds before he realized that he couldn't pause. Raising his head to see if there was any shelter from the bitter storm he only saw a larger piece of ice sticking out of the flat part of the iceberg that would shield the two of you from the wind. 

Despite how his limbs trembled with fatigue and cold, Levi pulled you completely out of the water and tried picking you up. Cradling your form, he tried to stand up but before he could completely raise one foot he fell down again. He clenched his teeth, furious with himself for being so weak. He decided that there was no other way than to drag you over the ice despite how much he hated the idea. And so, he carefully moved you over to the block of ice that would ward off the wind a little bit.

Levi's ears stung with pain of being so cold, his hands were turning blue and his teeth clattered. He looked at you again as he made you sit up against the rock of ice, you had lost consciousness. For a moment he panicked, thinking that you might have stopped breathing but when he checked your pulse he sighed in relief once again. There was no other way than to wait for someone to help you, Levi had tried shouting already but the howling wind had completely washed away the sound of his voice. Levi shuffled next to you, holding you close to his body to make sure that both of you could receive a little warmth from each other. He leaned his head against yours and felt your slow breathing, his eyes were starting to droop, there wasn't much time left.

* * *

 


	14. Chapter 14

Levi knew the phases in which hypothermia worked. First, you would feel incredibly cold and start to shiver. Your pulse would slow and you would start to feel hungry. Then, it would become harder to move. When trying to speak you would start to stammer, your reflexes would be horrible and you would get the incredible urge to want to fall asleep. Then the final phase was falling unconscious, followed by the possibility of a cardiac arrest. 

Levi didn't know what to do. You were unconscious already, he had to make sure you wouldn't stop breathing. He knew he had to keep himself from falling asleep and raised his head. With his trembling limbs he tried to shake your cold form as he held you against him, with his pale hands he held your face. Your skin was turning blue around your lips and he looked down at your hands to see that the same was happening around your nails, another sign of hypothermia. He wanted to cry for being so helpless, he felt like a good for nothing. What could he do to save you? Only pray for you to wake up. 

He gently put his forehead against yours, you were cold, your breathing was slow. Levi saw the frozen flakes of snow in your eyelashes and eyebrows. Your hair was meeting the same fate. He hugged you close, mumbling pleas for you to wake up, for you to be okay. 

"Wake up, (First). Please. Come on, wake up! You're stronger than this! Please, please wake up. Please, (F-First)." Levi's eyes scanned your features for any sign of reaction as he continued to beg for you to wake up.

For a moment, he thought he saw your eyes flutter. He still held your face in his cold hands, he noticed the signs of hypothermia on his own fingers too now. Levi tried to swallow the upcoming lump in his throat as he gently stroked your cheek with his thumb, there you were, awake. (Eye Color) eyes tried to focus on him, Levi gasped out in relief. Then he watched as your eyes slowly closed again.

"Hey, h-hey (First). Stay w-with me, o-okay? I-I need you to s-stay awake." He cursed himself for stammering, but he couldn't help it. Levi knew he wasn't invincible, the hypothermia was really getting to him. You blinked in an attempt to open your eyes and somehow you managed to keep them open.

"Levi," You started, however, he interrupted you.

"No, n-no you don't have to s-say anything." He said, his bottom lip trembling.

"It's alright," Levi heard you whisper. "we-we've got t-this." The tears pricked at his eyes when you moved a hand to rest upon his shakily. "Y-you're always p-panicking. L-Let's s-stay calm, we've got this."

His heart ached at your words, how you repeated that last sentence just as how you had said it back in Reiss Castle pained him but also filled him with hope. Just like back then he had absolutely nothing to say, he was at a loss for words once again. How often did that happen to him? Now that he thought about it, only with you. So the response he had to give you was simple, he nodded at you, just like he had done back in the castle. 

Levi had been paying so much attention to you that he had failed to notice anything else around him. That was until he thought he could hear something in the distance, it sounded like a familiar voice. But he thought it was his imagination. The storm had calmed down a bit, the man was able to see a little more clearly now but the harsh wind still blocked his hearing. Levi tried to keep you awake with all of his might, you were still somewhat conscious. At least more than you had been before. Then suddenly he heard something very clearly. 

"Levi! (First)!" It was like someone had slapped him in the face, he was wide awake. He turned his head to you, debating wether it was safe to leave you alone for a couple of seconds but he left. Gently letting you slide out of his grasp as he leaned you against the ice boulder. With shaky steps Levi managed to walk to the edge of the flat iceberg. In the distance he spotted the boat!

Levi raised his hands and tried to speak, no words came out. Was he really this fragile?  _'Come on Levi,'_ he thought  _'don't be pathetic. Save someone for once.'_ He tried again, shouting to gain the attention of Erwin or Hanji. Levi waved his hands, quickly glancing back to see how you were doing. 

"I see him! There he is!" He heard a feminine voice yell. The boat was heading his way.

He hurried back to your side, falling to his knees but not feeling the pain that came with it. This time he would save someone. He would get you to safety. The man scooped you up, carrying you bridal style and stood up on his shaky legs. When he returned to the edge of the water the boat was closer than before. They were almost close enough to get Levi and you on board.

From where Erwin stood in the cabin of the boat, all he could see was Levi that held you as he waited for him to get the boat to the ice. The terrifying thought of the possibility that you might not have survived crossed his mind but he shook it off. The thing he had to focus on was saving Levi and you right now. Hanji was out on the boat making sure that Erwin would turn the ship at the right moment. The moment where Erwin had to turn the boat to make sure that Levi could get on with you through the side of it felt like it took hours. Hanji insisted on helping Levi with carrying you but he miraculously got on by himself. 

The professor had hurried the two of you into the cabin, getting Levi all the blankets and extra coats that were available as she inspected if you were still conscious. "Erwin, give me your hat. She needs to wear it since a lot of warmth escapes through the head. I'll sit with (First) under a pair of blankets, she seems to be in a worse state than Levi, and getting two people with hypothermia to cuddle up helps no one." Hanji said and Erwin handed her his hat and she put it on you as fast as she could. The kind professor covered you and herself with two blankets and put her arms around you. Even though she hadn't known you for a very long time, Hanji hugged you close and made sure that she would do anything to get you back to the mainland safely.

"Erwin, get us back to the mainland as soon as possible." She ordered, Erwin only nodded with a determined look in his eyes as he maneuvered the small boat over the restless sea.

* * *

Lucky for all of you, a hospital was close to the docks where you got on the mainland. Levi and you were transported there as quickly as Erwin and Hanji could manage. The professor had kept a watchful eye on both you and Levi the entire trip, she was the one who had brought you here and would not let anything happen to the two of you. 

Once in the hospital the nurses and doctors immediately took care of you and Levi, Hanji and Erwin were left behind to wait for your return. Hanji and Erwin had no idea how long they would have to wait, even though the professor knew all about hypothermia she could not determine in what phase the two of you were right now. Anxiously she bit her nails, a bad habit she had picked up years ago while studying technical engineering. She wondered how she could have let this happen, even though she couldn't have done anything about the sudden blizzard. 

Erwin leaned back in his chair, finding himself foolish for letting all of this happen. He should have never let anyone go to the Antarctic, and if something were to happen to Levi or you he wasn't sure if he'd be able to forgive himself. He rubbed his face with his hands, sighing as he did so. As he looked at the clock afterwards, he saw that almost an hour had passed. A doctor entered through the two white doors of the waiting room and looked around.

"Mister Smith?" At the sound of his name the blonde immediately stood up and the brunette next to him as well. "If you could follow me." Was all the doctor said. Hanji and Erwin gave each other a look and followed the doctor, hoping that the two of you would be okay.

Hanji adjusted her glasses on the bridge of her nose and swallowed an upcoming lump in her throat. Even for her it was hard to stay positive right now, the image of Levi holding you in the terrible blizzard filled her mind and she tried her best to stop her eyes from watering. Erwin was quiet the entire walk, just like her. No matter how bad his relationship had been with Kenny at the end of his friends' life, if Erwin lost Levi he was sure that his dear friend would never forgive him. The blonde man could only pray that Kenny was watching over his nephew, and he already knew that Levi was watching over you. If that was enough to save you and Levi, Erwin did not know. 

"They are in the room we are about to enter, don't worry they are only asleep. The girl seems to be in a worse condition than the man but if you hadn't taken action as quick as you did miss, they would have passed already. I'm happy to announce that both of them will live." The doctor said as he opened the door and stepped into the white room. Every word he had said didn't really register with either Erwin or Hanji, all they had heard was that the two of you would live.

* * *

Levi and you had stayed in the hospital for a mere two days before you were allowed to leave. The nurses and doctors had been so kind to let Erwin and Hanji stay with you in the hospital over that period of time. Levi had recovered faster than you had, it was logical of course, but you still felt a little weak. Despite those feelings you were filled with relief that Levi had been okay. He was strong and capable of many things, that had become clear to you a long time ago. But no one is invincible, or unbeatable, not even Levi Ackerman. You really wanted to talk to him about what happened out there, but you figured it wasn't the time yet. 

When the four of you were already on your way back to Maria Island on the plane you decided to sit next to Hanji. She let you rest and you didn't feel like talking to Levi just yet. And somehow you had the idea that it was something that he might want to start about. Even though you had been barely conscious at the time, you had seen a vulnerable side of Levi you didn't even know he possessed. You felt like it was something very personal that he had let out, so you didn't want to probe.

Once back at the island, all you and Levi did for the following days was rest wile Hanji and Erwin tried to finish a couple of assignments S&A Diving Service had received in the past days. You hated resting and doing nothing but laying in your bed the entire day, it gave you a horrible feeling of uselessness even though you appreciated the break you got.

In the meantime you had been texting Eren and Mikasa, you hadn't spoken to them in a couple of weeks and felt bad for treating your best friends that way. In the whole paragraph that you wrote to them you told them what had happened, the people that you had already met while working here and the amazing places you had seen. As much as you hated to shock them by telling them that you had almost died, you could never hide the truth from your friends. Mikasa had immediately protested how you should quit immediately and that if you wouldn't she'd get down to the island herself to drag you off to safety. Lucky for you, Eren was there to calm her down and had told you he was glad that you were okay, even though he was mad at you for putting yourself in danger. The two said that they would love to visit you one day on the island, you wondered if it was possible, but you really wanted to see your friends again. Only now that you had been separated from them for such a long time had you noticed how much you could miss them. Back home you could always visit them and it was hard to accept that they were oceans away right now. You also felt weird for thinking about that just now, you had been on Maria Island for quite a while now. Maybe it was because you were too occupied with everything that had been happening.

One night as all of you sat around the dinner table, Erwin seemed to have the urge to get something off his chest. "Levi, (First). I really think that it's best if we forget about the Song of Dragons and the Pacifica Treasure." The silence that followed in the room was deafening, Levi had halted his fork that he was bringing to his mouth mid air and you had put your cutlery down as you looked at Erwin. Hanji seemed taken aback too, it seemed that Erwin hadn't spoken about his thoughts to anyone.

"Excuse me, Erwin?" Levi calmly said as he turned his head to the blonde that was seated at the head of the table.

"The two of you almost died. You know what's going to happen if you continue this." 

"Erwin we have had this conversation before, you can't do anything to stop me." The raven-haired man said, he was calmer than before about the issue. 

"I've had it with you, have you forgotten what happened?!" Erwin shook his head and stood up, looking at Levi that stared back at him with eyes full of anger and sorrow. Then he left the cabin. Silence fell once again

"I wonder what he has been thinking these past days, I feel bad for not noticing his concerns earlier..." Hanji muttered as she looked down at her food.

"It's okay Hanji, I'll go after him." You suddenly said and stood up as well, Levi reached for your arm but stopped himself midway.

"Are you sure?" He asked, you looked back at him and gave him a small smile as you nodded at him.

When you stepped out of the cozy cabin and looked around the dark island now that night had fallen it was hard to spot the man you were looking for at first, but then you saw him standing at the end of the tiny wooden harbor. His back faced you as you walked his way, he didn't turn around even though he heard your approaching footsteps. Erwin had his hands clutched together behind his back and didn't move a muscle as you stood next to him. Both of you stood looking out at the ocean now but you didn't say anything, only waited for him to speak.

“My fears were confirmed at the Antarctic. That song is… cursed. Or perhaps it is the Pacifica Treasure that brings bad luck to all who seek it.” Erwin said. “I know you've already heard this story about Kenny and I but I'll tell you anyways. We traveled the world's oceans together as a best friend team. Then 15 years ago Kenny started to look for the treasure. I had also heard rumors about the Pacifica Treasure, but I dismissed it as nothing but absurd hearsay and folk legends. I tried to convince him to let it go, but he became even more sure, saying 'I know it exists! Why don't you believe me, Erwin!' Our perfect team broke apart and then a year later, he died. Am I certain that he died with nothing but resentment towards me in his heart. But that is not the only thing that has happened, there is another story you don't know about. Levi came to S&A Diving Service at age fifteen with a whole team of experienced divers. Petra Gal, Oluo Bozado, Eld Gin and Gunther Schultz. They were killed while looking for the mystery of the Song of Dragons with Levi when a huge storm made them unable to return to the boat and they all drowned. Levi still blames himself for their deaths. The Pacifica Treasure brought nothing but bad luck to him and those around him, I don't want anyone else to die for the sake of a foolish legend.”

“There is nothing foolish about it.” A deep voice said from behind you and you turned around to see Levi standing there.

“Levi... you heard all that?” Erwin said with wide eyes.

“Kenny put his life on the line for the Pacifica Treasure, and so did Eld, Gunther, Oluo and Petra! They risked their lives for something they believed in! They weren't just killed by some curse!”

“Levi…” Was all that Erwin could say.

“You're just running away from the truth! I'm going to follow in their footsteps and find out what the Song of Dragons is all about! And I'm going to prove that the Pacifica Treasure exists!” The fire in Levi's eyes had returned, finding out this secret was all he really wanted.

“Maybe... Maybe you're right... But still I can't..." Erwin turned to look at you. "I'm so sorry you had to get caught up in this.” You shook your head to dismiss his apology, you came here out of your own will after all.

“Erwin…” Levi started.

“Let's leave him to think about it, okay?” You tried to say as gently as possible as you gave Levi a small smile and returned to the cabin.

* * *

 


	15. Chapter 15

Everyone went to sleep with a frown on their face. The day hadn't ended particularly well and you were left with a feeling of wanting to know more about Levi's deceased friends. You were in no position to pry, you even thought it was kind of rude of Erwin to tell you that information but then again he had been there when it happened. There were so many things you didn't know about Levi, it was obvious that that was the case but you never imagined that he had hidden away such horrible things. He had been so incredibly young when that happened, you wondered how he had been able to cope. It was no surprise to you that he wouldn't want to share that information with anyone, but still, you felt kind of sad. Didn't he trust you? 

Your troubled mind soon lulled you to sleep as the pale moonlight shone through the curtains in front of your window. The temperature at Maria Island was always ideal at night and day, it was wonderful to fall asleep with. But Levi didn't think so. He was left staring at the ceiling in the middle of the night, a hand on his forehead as he remembered things he wished he would never recall again. But he couldn't lie to himself, the exact same memory of his friends disappearing into the sea flashed in front of his eyes when he had seen you fall into the stormy waters that day. This time it all ended well, but he would never be able to forget the day where it didn't. 

* * *

The next morning you jolted awake, disoriented and still in a sleepy haze you sat up and wondered what had wakened you. That was until you heard someone shout from the outside of the cabin.

"Yoo-hoo? Anyone home? Hello!" You stumbled out of bed and took a quick glance at your clock, it was five in the morning. Mumbling curses under your breath you shuffled out of your room and opened the front door of the cabin, then you took the tiny stairs down until you stood in the sand and saw a lone man stand on the wooden dock. Still sleepy you rubbed your eyes as you advanced, upon hearing the door open and close again you saw that Levi had also woken up from the stranger's shouting. As you approached you seemed to recognize the stranger, but surprise quickly turned into anger.

"No way... Hey! What are you doing here?!" You yelled out to the person standing on the dock as you walked towards the handsome man. Erwin had also jogged up to join you and groaned in annoyance. It seemed that nothing had been able to wake the sleeping professor, but that might just have been good since you definitely didn't want anyone to meet Mike.

"Why are you on my island?" Erwin asked.

"Good morning, islanders! It's me MZ!" The tall man named Mike Zacharius stood proudly on the dock with his arms crossed facing Erwin, Levi and you who were still in your pajamas and each had a gorgeous bedhead. It was nice to know that Levi slept without a shirt on, but you quickly snapped out of your thoughts as the raven-haired man started to speak.

"You're still holding onto that nickname..." Levi sighed.

"So this is where you live? Got to say, you've got a pretty sweet place. Anyways, I'm here because I got something to talk to you about." Mike grinned.

"What is it?" You crossed your arms, not pleased with his sudden appearance.

"What else? The Song of Dragons!" Everyone gave each other a knowing look and you beckoned Mike to follow after all of you. You all took a seat at the dining table in the cabin and waited for Mike to start his story. In the meantime Hanji had joined you all but Mike didn't even seem to pay attention to her since he was too focussed on what he had to tell you.

"We're both after the same things, right? The Song of Dragons and the Pacifica Treasure.” The tall man said.

“Wait, what? You’re after them too?” You questioned with wide eyes.

“You bet, girl. I’ve been chasing the Pacifica Treasure for over ten years now! I’m absolutely one hundred percent definitely sure the treasure exists. This Song of Dragons seems to have a strong link to it, or it is the only way to get to it. So I’ve been hard at work salvaging anything and everything, from all the oceans in the world that have legends about the Song of Dragons.”

“So that’s what you meant when you said that there was something else you were after at Reiss Castle? So, you came here to extract information?” You asked, narrowing your eyes a little.

“No, no, don’t get me wrong. I got a hot tip about a certain location a while ago. I want to check it out, but it’s dangerous to go alone since.. yeah! So I came here looking for some new diving partners. Simple trade. I give you the info on the Song of Dragons, and you come help me scout the plan and see if the info is hot or not! Of course, If we find any treasure I’m willing to split it.” His smug little smile returned to Mike's face at that last sentence.

“Oh, how generous.” You sarcastically smiled. “And what percentage did you have in mind?”

“Well. Since I’m the client and all, I think eighty to twenty is a pretty good deal.” 

“That’s eighty percent for us and twenty for you, right? Since there’s four of us and one of you.” Was what you said to him, returning his smug smile.

“Whoa, whoa, hang on a sec!” The man raised his hands in his own defense.

“Well, if you’re not up for it, you could always just leave.” Levi smirked and crossed his arms as he sat beside you.

“But good luck finding someone who can read the Okeanos carvings other than Professor Zoë!” You raised your eyebrows and looked away, picking at your fingernail. Levi and you had driven him into a corner and there was no way out.

“What? You mean that’s her? The famous…” Mike seemed baffled at Hanji’s presence.

“Hanji Zoë. Pleased to meet you.” The professor said, not seeming to mind that he had only just paid attention to her presence

“No way. I thought Hanji was a guy’s name. Guess I was wrong! How about dinner sometime, Doc?” You sighed and facepalmed at Mike’s horrible attempt to flirt with the professor. She chuckled and shook her head.

“Back to the point!” Levi demanded. “Eighty percent for us, twenty for you?”

“You little…” Mike hissed through gritted teeth as he glared at Levi.

“Excuse me?” You raised your eyebrows in question.

“Yeah, fine, whatever.” He sighed in defeat.

“Brilliant! Erwin?” You looked at the blonde for confirmation, hoping that he would agree on the idea of resuming with the persuasion of the Song of Dragons.

“If you must..” He said reluctantly.

“Okay, so.” Mike started. “My tip’s about a place said to be linked to the Song of Dragons. And it’s not in the sea, for once.”

“What? Where is it?” Furrowing your eyebrows in confusion you scooted a little closer to the table on your chair.

“It’s in a river. The Cortica River, in the Amazon region of South America. There’s a waterfall in the upstream area of the river that the locals call the Spirit Falls. Apparently they hear strange sounds from the cascade that they call the Dragonsong. They say the song was sung by the spirits of the falls for a traveling ocean deity that once visited them.” Mike said as he rubbed the stubble on his chin.

“Cortica River?” Hanji said. “I just remembered, that place has come up in my research before. A number of lapis lazuli artifacts have been discovered there recently. It’s a hot topic in the scientific community. Coincidence?”

“If that’s a coincidence, I’m a goblin shark.” Mike chuckled to himself.

“Your humor really is terrible.” You said with a sigh.

“But! I knew I was right on the track of the Pacifica Treasure!” As usual the salvager ignored your comment.

“The Cortica River in South America. I’ve never gone diving in a river before, I wonder what it’s like.” Levi seemed genuinely interested for once.

After all that, everyone established that another member had just been added to S&A Diving Service. Now the world famous Professor Zoë and the well known salvager Mike Zacharius were on your team.

* * *

The rest of the day had been spent finishing up some jobs and arranging things to travel to South America as soon as possible. In that short amount of time Mike had managed to piss everyone off so well that no one but him was actually happy that Erwin had managed to book tickets for a flight that would take off the next day. It was already decided that Mike would be the one sitting alone on the plane, no one was in a mood to deal with him.

Somehow you still though that there was something more to him, something that made him act the way he did. When you had told Levi of your suspicions he had told you that you tried too hard to find a reason behind his behavior, telling you that "some people are just how they are and there's nothing more to it". Though there had been a certain amount of truth in Levi's words, you were just too stubborn to listen to him. You decided that you would get to know Mike better, even if it meant tolerating his presence for more than ten minutes. 

When the evening fell you watched the [sunset](https://ak2.picdn.net/shutterstock/videos/10569842/thumb/1.jpg)from the couple of sun loungers that stood at the other side of the small island. It had become one of your favorite spots to come and sit down to watch the waves, forgetting everything for a moment. In the distance you saw the boat of a local fisherman sailing off to one of the nearby islands, you wondered if they had been successful today. You let your head fall back against the painted wood of the sun lounger and stared at the horizon with half lidded eyes, you were kind of tired. When thinking about it, you wouldn't mind falling asleep here. It was probably the most peaceful place you knew, beautiful, quiet, calming and everything else you wished for at the end of a tiring day.

You heard the sand shift behind you, this seemed like a familiar scene. All the suspicions of who the stranger was were confirmed when Levi sat down in the sun lounger next to you. The two of you sat in a comfortable silence. Both of you didn't have to say anything yet and there was nothing to be said. At least that was what you thought. The calming atmosphere made you drowsy, just when your closed your tired eyes did Levi speak.

"Don't fall asleep on me now that I have the courage to talk to you." He said.

"What do you mean?" A frown spread across your features as you turned your head to Levi.

"About what happened, back there in the Antarctic." A sigh escaped his mouth.

"Ah that, I was wondering if you'd even start about it but I figured it wasn't my place to ask you about that stuff." Both of you knew this was about Levi's short breakdown when your lives had been in danger, he had looked more vulnerable than ever before and you figured that there was something more to it. Those thoughts had been confirmed when Erwin told you about his deceased friends.

"Thanks for that."

"It's nothing." It was quiet once again for a little while, you waited patiently for what Levi had to say. It had become pretty clear that this was something he didn't speak about often.

"So, I know Erwin told you about what happened to my friends. Ever since I lost them I just... I felt like there was nothing I could do that'd make them forgive me. I failed to save them. I should have jumped back into the water when I came aboard and Erwin told me that none of them had returned yet... but I didn't. And then you fell into the water and I knew it was the same thing happening all over again." Levi paused for a moment, you didn't look at him but knew that he tried to keep himself together with all of his might. "Then I jumped after you and I searched for you, I swam to where I had last seen your hands above the water but I figured you couldn't make it anymore and I was so relieved when I managed to find you and pull you out of the water. It was like... like I was setting things straight even though I could never get my friends back no matter what I would do. Not that I saved you because of that! But with seeing you there, alive, it just felt like I had managed to save something of what had been so many years ago. I never expected to feel the way I did, it just happened."

"Well," You started, unsure of what you would tell him, "I don't really know what to say, other than that I'm thankful that you trust me enough to tell me this." glancing Levi's way you saw that he forced himself to look ahead of him to distract himself from his own emotions. One of his arms dangled over the arm rest of the chair and you hesitantly hooked some of your fingers around his own. "I'm glad you saved me. I never really got to properly thank you for that so... thank you. And I'm sure... I'm sure we'll solve the riddle of the Song of Dragons not just for us but also for your friends." 

"...Yeah." Was all he said in return. The two of you didn't share another word after that. You only stared at the ocean with your fingers intertwined, wondering how many secrets there were yet to unravel.

* * *

The next day you and Levi shared a new form of familiarity. You really felt like he trusted you, and you knew you trusted him. Hanji had told everyone that the climate of the Amazon region was rough and that it would be very different to dive in waters like the Cortica River. She helped everyone with what to pack, except for Mike who had come to Maria Island prepared. He must have been very confident that S&A Diving Service would've accepted his offer to join him on the trip. 

The flight was long and exhausting, even when sitting next to Levi who was calm as always. Everyone did manage to keep Mike off their backs for a while since he kept walking over to the four of you, saying how lonely he was and how he wanted company. To you it did seem like an opportunity to get to know him better but when you thought about it, taking a seat next to Mike would be a choice with many,  _many_ regrets. Lucky for you, you were able to get some sleep on the plane and watch a few movies to keep yourself entertained. Levi seemed to be in a horrible sleepless state like always, it looked like the bags under his eyes had become even darker if that was possible. You felt bad for him, but there was nothing you could do to help. Some time ago you had asked him about his sleeping problems and he had waved you off saying that he was fine and that you wouldn't be able to help anyways, so you didn't ask about it anymore.

The first day arriving in South America the five of you would stay over at a decent place a few miles away from the river. That way everyone would be able to get some sleep to restore their energy and make sure the equipment was double checked and the last necessary research had been done. Erwin mentioned that you would head out the next day to the river and a local fisherman would be in charge of the boat that he would lead through the river, it wasn't allowed to sail on the river without experience. That was because of the unpredictable waters and wildlife, it did make you a bit nervous. 

Arriving in the wooden cabin where the five of you would stay for the night, you threw your bag on the bottom bunk of the comfortable looking bunk beds. Levi entered the room just after you and before he could even speak you opened your mouth.

"I've claimed the bottom bunk." You quickly said as you turned around to face him. No matter how childish it may have seemed, you were set on getting the bottom bunk.

"That's fine," Levi sighed and made his way over to the bunk bed to throw his own bag on the top bunk. "I always suspected you were a bottom." He patted your shoulder and exited the room to find, what you thought, Erwin. You were left with your mouth hanging open to process the thing he had just said. 

"This fucking guy." 

* * *

Everyone sat in the secure, but not very large, boat that the local fisherman steered through the river. He was tall and lanky but was incredibly good at sailing around all the obstacles in the river, the man seemed to know every root or rock that was underwater and avoided them in the most perfect way.

"This Amazon tributary is known for its many shallows and large variety of freshwater animals. Divers must be careful swimming along its narrow channels, as its muddy waters cause poor visibility." The man spoke, giving you some information about the area as he didn't lose focus in what he was doing.

“We are nearly at the upstream region. The river is quite shallow here.” Erwin said.

“We’re actually in the jungle. It’s the one and only Amazon rain forest, little lady!” Mike punched your shoulder and you just rolled your eyes.

“You need to be careful, the river is full of dangerous animals.” Hanji said.

“The lady knows what she speaks of.” The local maneuvering the boat through the river remarked from where he steered the boat.

“What kind of dangerous animals?” You asked her.

“Around here? There’s the caiman, which is related to the crocodile, and also piranhas and electric eels.” The professor said like it was the most normal thing in the world, you swallowed hard at her words.

“Just hearing their names makes my blood run cold.” Erwin sighed.

“W-Will we be able to survive even with the pulsar?” You asked, too consumed by your own fear that you hadn't noticed the boat had come to a stop.

“I’m not so sure. Do not rely on the Pulsar too much. It is not made for use in fresh water. It may not work on all freshwater creatures.” Levi seemed troubled by what he was telling you, but it was only the truth.

“I’ll stay aboard the boat and contact you if I have any advice on what to do. I don’t think I’ll be of much use to you in these waters.” The professor said.

“But you can’t get rid of me so easily. I’m going with you to help you search!” Mike grinned and looked over to Levi that sighed, clearly not wanting to deal with a person like him at a time like this. But both of you didn't have a choice. 

* * *

 


	16. Chapter 16

The water of the river was incredibly murky and there were a lot of fish from what you could see. It would be difficult to make your way through the river like this. Mike spoke through the radio.

“Right, we’re going to swim upstream along the Cortica River since the boat can only go this far. Destination is Spirit Falls. It’s a waterfall that we should reach as we swim upstream. It’s a sacred place, feared by the locals for generations. They say that you can hear the Song of Dragons near the falls. I have a really good feeling that we’ll find the Pacifica Treasure there. There just has to be something hidden away in a place like that! If we run into anything dangerous,” He looked at Levi “you’re on defense duty. Don’t let me down!” Mike shot him finger guns and Levi just shook his head.

Deciding that it was best to keep moving, the three of you swam upstream. The fish sure did vary in sizes in the Cortica River, a big [Alligator Gar](http://ww4.hdnux.com/photos/42/73/47/9157095/3/1024x1024.jpg)swam around while a [Tiger-Striped Catfish](https://68.media.tumblr.com/4fed1541c6ff1388c75d5ecbc40aef91/tumblr_o2jhqhJghl1usu6e0o1_1280.jpg)swam over the sandy ground. Although a lot of these creatures looked intimidating, like the huge [Tambaqui](http://blocs.xtec.cat/alt4t1/files/2015/04/tumburicu.jpg), they weren't dangerous. Even the groups of [Butterfly Peacock Bass](https://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/forums/attachments/ocellaris2-jpg.1026037/)fish looked quite scary though they were peaceful creatures to be around. From the little research you had done about creatures in the area you knew most about the harmless ones, now that you thought about it that might not have been the greatest idea, but you were sure things would be fine with Levi and Mike with you, not to mention that Hanji could contact you from the boat.

When the three of you took a turn to the right and ended up in a shallower part of the river, you could see smaller fish swimming around and feared for the worst.

“Piranhas.” Levi confirmed your fears. This early on in the expedition you were already facing danger.

 _“Hello? Hanji here. I think the piranhas you’re talking about are[Notorious Piranhas](http://phenomena.nationalgeographic.com/files/2012/12/Piranha.jpg). You should be able to use the pulsar on them.” _Was heard from the radio.

“You can’t expect us to use the Pulsar on each and every piranha! We’d be torn to pieces in no time!” Mike exclaimed, sounding a little nervous. He was right though, there was no way that would be a success. 

 _“I see your point. However, they’re actually quite cautious fish, and as long as they have enough food, they normally don’t bother humans.”_ Hanji informed you.

“We'll see." Levi sighed and swam straight forward into the group of piranhas.

"Levi are you insane!?" You yelled and quickly followed after him. The fish didn't seem to pay any mind to the three of you but you still thought that Levi might have a secret death wish because of his actions. 

You felt like something could jump you any moment since you could barely see a thing in the muddy water. It was one of the reasons why you had chased after Levi so quickly, to make sure you wouldn't lose him out of sight. Mike trailed after the two of you, you had thought that he would be the one to jump into any situation in front of you but you were wrong. Maybe the big shot salvager MZ wasn't as tough as he claimed to be. A couple of nerve wrecking minutes had passed since you entered the sea of piranhas and everything had been going smoothly so far, the place where the fish swarmed would be exited soon.

There was a sharp turn to the left, you tried to look for what was around the corner but your vision was partially blocked by some roots of a tree that had entered the water. There were a lot of branches in the river and the ground was indeed filled with roots and other forms of plants. Diving in a river really was a lot more difficult that you had imagined, it was completely different from the sea. 

“Holy shit a crocodile.“ Mike suddenly said as he swam up and turned the corner just before you did. Levi had stopped in his tracks and so had Mike and you when you turned the corner, a couple of crocodiles swam around. It was like one obstacle after the other appeared whenever you would dive for the Song of Dragons.

 _“Hanji here, what you’re seeing is probably a[Spectacled Caiman](http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-unKum8GqGlE/T65fTSlJWvI/AAAAAAAAFvU/p4UWt4pD-ZU/s1600/caiman.jpg), a type of crocodile. It’s a relatively docile creature, but by no means harmless. You should avoid drawing its attention. They are very protective of their young, and become extremely violent when attacking their natural enemy, the enormous anaconda snake.” _Hanji told you.

“Reminds me of that one song- “ 

“Don’t even start.” You interrupted and warned Levi.

"I didn't say anything, thanks for the info Hanji." Levi said, you could just hear the smirk in his voice. Knowing that the crocodiles probably liked to hang around at the bottom of the river or at the riverbanks you tried to sneak past the side of a tiny rock that stuck out of the muddy water, the animals didn't seem to notice you but you thought that for a split second you saw something move in the dirt beneath you. When you had safely avoided the caiman, you released a breath you didn't know you were holding in.

The river became less wide and the three of you weren't able to swim next to each other anymore, it wasn't cramped but also more shallow than the part of the river you were in before. It was still hard to see and you were grateful that Levi was the one who led the expedition, you wondered how he knew where to go. After passing the smaller section of the river it became a little easier to see, the water was less muddy but still not entirely clear. There were more plants and other flora found underwater further upstream, and other animals too.

[Giant Otters](https://media.mnn.com/assets/images/2015/09/giant-river-otter.jpg.696x0_q80_crop-smart.jpg)swam around like they didn't have a care in the world. Some floated on their backs on the surface of the river while others dove down to the swampy ground of the river to find something useful. The big creatures acted like you weren't even there. Although they were larger than you had expected them to be in real life, they were still cute to you. Unfortunately you had to move up and make sure that you would reach the upstream of the Cortica River.

The river seemed to expand as you made your way forward, you couldn't see the edges of the riverbanks anymore and wondered if you hadn't ended up in some sort of lake. Tall slender trees literally grew from the bottom of the river, lots of roots had steadied themselves at the edge of the riverbank and it seemed that you had ended up at some sort of underwater forest. Rotting wood covered the muddy floor and big leaves hung from the trees into the water. You widened your eyes when an enormous fish emerged from the maze of roots and trees. The beautiful [Giant Arapaima](http://www.vorply.com/media/1111/arapaima-fish-1.jpg)was able to hide its large form in the forest of trees in this river, that way it was safe from larger predators. You were pretty sure the animal was as long as your own body and Levi's combined, it was one of the biggest freshwater fish out there.

“Hanji, we’re at this area that resembles a forest of trees and roots.” Levi stopped swimming forward right in front of the maze of trees and spoke into his microphone.

 _“Oh, yes, hello! A little heads up! This kind of enviroment is just perfect for the electric eel to conceal itself. They’re dangerous creatures that, as their name implies, carry an electrical charge. If you’re not careful, you could find yourself getting a shock of eight hundred volts. They also breathe air, so they have to come close to the surface to breathe every now and again. Take care, because you can never tell where they might be. Oh, and their electrical properties mean the pulsar is useless against them. If you run into trouble for some reason try to frighten them off or swim away yourself."_  Like usual, what Hanji said weren't the most reassuring words you could get at the moment.

"Let's be careful." Mike said from his position. 

"Sounds like a plan." Levi sighed and once again, he faced the danger ahead like it was nothing, diving straight into the area that possibly swarmed with lethal creatures. 

It was a pain to avoid all the roots and leaves or other forms of vegetation that surrounded the trees in the area. A couple of times you had gotten yourself stuck behind a vine or a fallen creeping plant. Lucky for you, you had Mike and Levi with you who helped you out immediately. But every time such a thing happened in the underwater forest you cursed yourself for being so stupid and you became insanely stressed, feeling like an electric eel could harm you or the two men who were with you at any second. 

You thought about the fact that every single one of you had no idea for how much further this forest would stretch on. The fear of not knowing what was waiting for you in these murky waters increased your anxiety, what were you gonna do if you got lost? What if Levi couldn't find the exit, if there even was one? No, you couldn't continue to think like that. You trusted Levi, he knew what he was doing. There was an and to this river, this wasn't where you would end up dying. The end of the Cortica River was the Spirit Falls and you couldn't go in the wrong direction, Mike had already informed you that there wasn't such a possibility. Then why was it that you were scared? Did you doubt your own abilities in these unknown waters? Many thoughts crossed your mind as you evaded another branch that hung in the water at an annoying height, it was hard to pass by but you managed and so did Mike behind you. As your mind kept wandering to many more disastrous scenarios, the end of the underwater forest was already in sight.

"I thought we were never gonna get out." You sighed in relief as you exited the forest after Levi.

“This place is a minefield of dangerous creatures, I totally underestimated the Cortica River. If I was diving alone, I’d be fish food by now! I guess I’m just trying to say that, uh, I’m glad you’re out here guys.” Mike awkwardly cleared his throat afterwards.

“Don’t mention it.” Levi simply said.

“Right, let’s get going. We’re getting closer now.” The salvager fixed his posture like he hadn't just showed some genuine emotion and followed after Levi who continued to swim forward. You just shook your head at the two, finding them a rather odd duo.

"Are we in the upstream now?" Was what you asked Levi and Mike as the water had suddenly become much clearer than before.

“The water is much clearer.” Levi remarked as somewhat of a confirmation.

“I’m seeing some comepletely different fish here too. I’ve got a feeling that the Spirit Falls are somewhere close by!” You heard Mike say over the radio and a determined smile spread across your face.

Of course, the great river was still brimming with life and many different kinds of plants and fish swam around like Mike had said. The water became deeper and the river had a turn to the left up ahead. When you turned the corner a great rumbling sound could be heard from further up the river. And when the three of you closed in on the sound you could see that the surface of the water broke because something repeatedly fell on it. It were the Spirit Falls. When you got closer the sound was a little overwhelming and it became hard to see if there was anything behind it, the bubbles of the water being constantly in motion disturbed your vision.

“This has got to be the Spirit Falls! Hey, what’s that at the bottom?” Now that Mike mentioned it, it became a bit deeper down at the place where the water fell and behind it seemed to be some sort of structure.

“It looks man-made, which is really out of place. Let’s check it out.” You said. A Piraiba Catfish swam at the bottom of the strange man-made doors that looked like they belonged to some temple. It was a gorgeous, peaceful creature that you could stare at all day long.

“The current of the waterfall is too strong, but it looks like some sort of ancient floodgate. Get Hanji on the radio, I’m sure she’ll know something about it.” Levi ordered, somehow knowing that Erwin had taken over the radio at some point.

 _“Roger that.”_ said Erwin’s voice.

 _“Hello, hello! So, there’s a floodgate behind the waterfall?”_ Hanji seemed to appear on the radio in an instant, she sounded extremely excited about the matter like usual.

“There are strange looking statues on the side too, they look like sitting frogs.” Mike mentioned. Indeed there were two big statues of sitting frogs standing on the side of the floodgates. They sat on a pedestal and looked like old statues with nothing particularly special about them. They were covered in old vines and moss but other than that the style that they were made in looked oddly familiar. You thought it was incredible how these statues were still in such a good shape after possibly thousands of years. 

 _“They may be statues of sacred frogs. Statues like that are found throughout the Cortica River basin. If I remember correctly, there’s a song about floodgates and frogs that comes from this area. How did it go… oh right! ‘A frog that eats silver and a frog that eats lapis guard the king’s floodgate. Praise them both to open the gate, lapis, lapis, silver, lapis, silver.’ That sounds like a puzzle to me.”_ If it was a mystery to the professor, you wondered if there was anything that you could do. But you shook it off and knew that you couldn't underestimate the brilliant minds of the people that were with you. 

“Sure does.” Levi mumbled.

“Okay, so lapis has got to mean the stone lapis lazuli. So, that gives us silver and lapis lazuli. But these frogs look like stone to me. But it says that they eat silver and lapis lazuli. I guess their insides could be stuffed with them.” Was what Mike suggested.

“Who cares Mike, I just want to get past this thing!” The raven-haired diver said, clearly annoyed. Although, you didn't think that was Mike said was such a crazy idea.

"Hey, that's not such a bad idea. We could try to find out." Was what you said, not wanting to dismiss a chance on finding out how these doors worked. 

“Can’t we investigate this with some sort of tool?” Mike questioned.

“Oh! The Multi-sensor!” You took the little device that Erwin had given you back at the Ciceros Strait out of one of the pouches of your equipment. It was a good thing that you had brought it just in case, otherwise the three of you would have been floating around here aimlessly. Turning the device on you pointed it into the direction of the left frog, the sensor said it was a form of metal. Now you turned to the right frog, the multi-sensor said the material was made out of stone. "They're made out of silver and lapis lazuli! You were right Mike!" You beamed.

"Oh," He smugly chuckled, "when am I not." 

When you swam up to one of the statues and investigated them for a bit, you could see that there was a small lever at the back of the head of the frog. The same was built at the back of the other frog's head and you could already guess what it meant. You told the guys that you had an idea and that they would have to let you do your thing for a moment.

"Hanji, could you repeat that last part of the song from around here?" You asked through the radio.

_"Praise them both to- "_

"Yes, yes, the lapis- silver part!" It may have sounded like you were an impatient brat but in reality you were just excited because you were almost one hundred percent certain that you had figured it out.

 _"All right (First), calm yourself please."_ She cleared her throat on the other end of the radio.  _"Lapis, lapis, silver, lapis, silver."_

"Perfect Hanji, thank you!" Swimming towards the right frog statue, that was made out of lapis lazuli, you flipped the lever on the back of its head twice. Then you swam over the the left one, flipping the switch on its head once, then back to the right statue and flipping the lever once again. At last you returned to the left frog and flipped the switch one last time. Levi had asked you what the hell you had been doing when you swam back and forth between the statues but you had ignored his questions and focussed on what you had to do. For a moment there was only silence, until a deep rumbling sound was heard from the floodgates. You swam back to where the guys were in the water to watch the gates slowly open and you grinned, proud at yourself for figuring this out although you were almost certain they would have been able to solve this too.

"Well, she sure succeeded." Levi laughed from behind his diving mask. 

 _"She did? You did (First)?! Tell me, what does it look like? Are there any engravings, more statues? Tell me anything, please!"_ The overenthusiastic brunette yelled, it made you cringe at the piercing sound in your ear. 

"We still have to enter this..." You took a good look at what exactly the floodgates had revealed. "Hidden hallway, I suppose, and then we'll tell you everything. Don't worry Hanji." A small laugh fell from your mouth as you heard the professor mumble some words you couldn't quite catch. It must have been her speculating or thinking to herself.

“Great! So that was the trick, huh? That was a stroke of genius. You’ve got my respect!” You heard Mike say.

“Do I even want that- “ Something unexpected cut you off.

A sound echoed out of the revealed entrance.

* * *

 


	17. Chapter 17

“Huh, this sound!” The realization kicked in and you recognized the tunes from before.

“What is it?” Mike asked.

“The song of Dragons!” Levi answered.

“What, no way! If that’s the Song of Dragons, there might be some kind of dragon guarding the treasure up ahead.” The blonde said in awe.

“Mike don’t be ridiculous.” You deadpanned.

“Okay, let’s go for it, but keep it cool! They say that anyone who hears the Song of Dragons is cursed. I never believed any of that, but now that I’ve heard it… I hate to say it but I’m totally spooked! That sounded insane.” The man sighed.

“Let’s just head in and see what’s up.” Levi said, he really did dislike Mike. The sound of the 'Song of Dragons' was heard just two more times before it faded away like it was never there.

When the three of you cautiously entered the hallway you started to explain the details of what you were seeing to Hanji. Perhaps she would know more about this and it could never hurt to gain more information about the area you were in right now. The walls were covered with a pattern of cream colored stones with a horizontal line of deep green stones that parted the written engravings on the walls from each other. There wasn't a single stone, except for the green ones, that was not covered in these engravings and old texts. In the ground of the hallway were these two odd lines that seemed to resemble some sort of track however, you didn't have the slightest idea for what it could have been. When you looked up ahead you saw that the corridor would take a turn to the right soon and you finished up telling Hanji all the information you had gathered so far.

 _“Guys, guys! What you’ve found is probably King Amaru’s Aquaduct! It’s a legend of a powerful King that once lived here. I can’t believe I decided not to come along…”_ She got cut off.

 _“Be careful in there!”_ Erwin’s stern voice sounded, of course the man was set on making sure that every single one of you would leave the river unharmed.

“Right, we know, Erwin.” Levi’s agitated voice sounded.

At the end of the hallway, after taking the turn to the right, you ended up at an open space decorated with beautiful stone pillars that had details and engravings on them just like the ones you saw in the corridor. They were oddly shaped pillars, most of the pedestals you were used to seeing were round but these old pillars were square shaped. 

Further up ahead there was a pit that, what you thought, could have been a well once. Two [Amazon River Dolphins](http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3642/3439826056_125b1137b4.jpg)swam around the well and payed no mind to any other creature that happened to pass by. Big groups of small fish inhabited the open space but you couldn't identify of which species they were. Levi suggested that it would be best to avoid disturbing the dolphins so the three of you swam around them with a big curve. Not far behind the well there was a tiny temple. The building had no doors but seemed important nevertheless. Just like all the stone structures you had encountered before, this building carried the same kinds of engravings and detailed decorations.

“This is…” You started, speechless.

 _“Sounds like you’ve found something.”_ Erwin commented.

“Check it out! An ancient temple submerged in an underground lake!” Mike laughed.

As Levi reported the details of the temple and the surrounding area to Hanji, you decided to take a look around. The river dolphins had moved over to a different location at the open space and you decided to check out where they had been hanging out. The well, at least you thought it was one, was just a dark hole in the ground. It was quite deep, you couldn't really see the bottom and you wondered if it might be a secret passage just like the well at the Ciceros Strait. You didn't dare to swim down yet though, you wanted to wait for Levi to finish what he was telling Hanji and then the three of you would probably enter the temple since that seemed more important than a well at the moment. Still, you couldn't help but wonder what was down there. Every tiny 'path' that was carved into the ground led to this well in the middle of the open space, there were carvings of an ancient language all over the ground and on every little stone you could find. You had been blocking out what everyone was saying over the radio and took a little moment to focus on what everyone was saying, you heard Levi and Hanji's voices.

"...(First) is at this well right now, it lies in the middle of this place and looks rather important."

 _"Oh, oh dear. (First), I'm sure you might think of things like what you have told me about your discovery of Reiss Castle but I promise you this isn't a passage. You see, this particular well is a sacrificial well."_ And at hearing those words you had disappeared from the well as quickly as you had been drawn to it. You definitely did  _not_ want to find out what was at the bottom of that seemingly endless pit. As Levi continued to tell Hanji the last details of the area, you swam back to him and Mike who were still floating around the entrance of the temple. At the discovery of what the well's purpose had been, this area seemed a lot darker than before all of the sudden. 

 _“I see. From your description, I think I know what we have here. It’s quite different to the ruins typically found around these parts. Instead, it bears a close resemblance to a number of other ruins found in various locations around the world. In short, just like the Pacifica Treasure and the lapis tablets, this looks like it was left behind by the Okeanides!”_ This news spread a grin across your face, this sounded like good news.

“So, what you mean to say is, jackpot! The Pacifica treasure has got to be here!” Mike sounded excited.

“Not so fast, we never know what’s up with this legend.” Levi mumbled.

"The Song of Dragons has faded away, and we haven’t seen anything monstrous or dragony. So where on earth did that sound come from?” Mike wondered. You didn't know if he was joking around about actual dragons or if he was just someone with a really creative fantasy, probably both.

“We’ve been asking ourselves the same question.” You sighed.

Advancing to the temple there was no door guarding it. Inside swam many [Dorado Fish](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1a/Dourado%28Salminus_brasiliensis%29emBonito.jpg) that sparkled with their golden scales like they were the treasure of this area, and in the middle of the temple was a rectangular stone with something lying on it. Other than that the room was rather empty and it felt a little odd to you, was the purpose of this whole building guarding a single object that lay on that stone up ahead? When all of you swam closer to the rectangular stone it became clear that what was lying on the mossy rock was not just a random item made of gold or other precious metals, it was another tablet of lapis lazuli

“Another tablet of lapis? It could be another Okeanos tablet, like the one we found in Reiss Castle. This one is in the best condition of all the things we’ve encountered so far, probably because it’s been sitting in fresh water.” Levi said as he looked at the tablet, carefully lifting it up to observe it and when he was done and both you and Mike had taken a look at the newly found clue, Levi put it away in one of the many pouches attached to his diving kit.

“But how come there is not any sign of gold? Is the Pacifica treasure elsewhere?” Mike sounded dissaponited. 

Then the Song of Dragons was heard again, a familiar unsettling feeling returning to the pit of your stomach. 

“Whoa! That sound again!”

It repeated itself once more. Now you were certain, this wouldn't end well. This whole pattern of hearing the song and finding something that would help you with discovering the truth about the Song of Dragons always followed with something else. If it would be a good thing or not was never clear although you feared the worst. 

“I have a bad feeling about this...” Was what you told the two men you were with, didn't they feel that there was something off every time the sound repeated itself? 

“What’re we going to do?” Mike questioned, his eyes shifting from Levi to you again and again.

“We should look for the source.” Levi decided, it had become clear that he wanted to find out where it came from and there was nothing to stop him. You nodded, following Levi's judgement without question despite your own feelings about the situation. 

“You serious? I think I’ll have to sit this one out.” The famous salvager looked at the two of you like you were mad, and perhaps you were.

“You are not staying here.” Levi ordered.

“Okay, okay, fine. Lead the way!” He sighed as the three of you turned back to the open entrance from where you entered the temple. Mike was pretty easy to convince.

“It sounded like it was coming from near the Spirit Falls, so not too far away.” You argued, hoping that that would be the last straw for Mike to actually join you.

“Alright! I’m in! Let’s go back there and check it out.” MZ said, following Levi and you as you exited the old temple.

The dolphins that had carelessly been swimming around the open space in front of the temple seemed to have disappeared into thin air. In fact, most of the fish you had seen before were gone and you wondered just what this Song of Dragons was influencing. Just as you all were about to enter the hallway back to the Spirit Falls, Mike told you to stop and pulled you and Levi aside to float next to the opening of the corridor.

"What is it?" You questioned, quite angry with him for pulling you aside so suddenly although you thought he must have had a reason for doing so.

“A crocodile. No way, I didn’t think there would be any around here, they never venture upstream! It looks incredibly stressed and angered. Hang on,” He turned to Levi “you can use the Pulsar, right?”

“Yes- “

“Well, get zapping! Take care of that croc!” If you hadn't been in such a situation as now you would have laughed at Mike's choice of words, but you couldn't. Knowing that Levi would have to endanger himself again didn't sit right with you, not to mention that you couldn't shake off that uneasy feeling.

"Make sure you hide yourselves, since Mike saw the thing it must be almost out of the hallway right now. Get back." The raven-haired diver said as he pulled the Pulsar from his belt. You wanted to tell him to take care, that he shouldn't behave reckless like he usually did but the words got stuck in your throat and you watched as the man swam away to create distance between the entrance to the hallway and himself. Mike said something you didn't pay attention to and pulled you back to the wall to make sure you wouldn't be noticed as the animal exited the corridor.

Levi waited, he could see the caiman advancing but he had to be patient. The Pulsar only worked when the targeted creature was in a range of three meters, which was way too close for his liking. He had to make sure that he wouldn't fire out of stress, the Pulsar took a few moments to recharge its electromagnetic pulses so he would be screwed if he fired too much when the crocodile was out of range. When Mike had spotted the creature it must have just gotten around the corner as it took a while for it to reach the end of the hallway. 

Waiting next to the entrance of the hallway was nerve wrecking, would the creature come out like a predator stalking its prey or would it charge at the man you were looking at right now. All you could do was wait and see, you felt horribly powerless and your bottom lip trembled. This was not a situation to cry, you had faith in Levi that he would be able to do this so why were you so emotional? You couldn't say a thing although there were so many words to say on your mind, Mike must have noticed your distressed state as he put a comforting hand on your shoulder. Again, you didn't say a word but were thankful for the small gesture. 

Then it happened. The caiman rushed out of the entrance, it was unbelievably fast, probably just as fast as a horse could run. You could see Levi as he readied the gun, aiming it at the creature that was ready to devour him once it had closed its jaws around one of his limbs. It all happened so fast yet it seemed like time had slowed down at the same time, Levi pulled the trigger twice but nothing happened. You heard the man curse under his breath, knowing he had fired two shots too soon, he only had three left. Nothing could be done for him, Levi had to do this himself and realizing once again just how useless you were you clenched your fists. 

Upon Levi's short seconds of distraction from firing the Pulsar too soon, he had underestimated the speed of the caiman. He watched as it closed in on him, his instincts kicked in and he turned away as he fired two shots at the crocodile. It slowed down but not completely, Levi immediately realized his mistake and fired another two shots now that the Pulsar had recharged with one new pulse. But he did it all just a little too late. His silver eyes widened when he felt the destructive power of the creature's jaws on his arm. You called out his name in agony.

 _'No, this can't be.'_ Were your thoughts as you saw it happen, as you saw the creature bite down on his arm. You knew this was bad although there was no blood, yet.  _'This can't happen to him, not now. Not now that I have come to- '_

"I'm fine." His strained voice suddenly sounded through the radio. With eyes widened in shock you saw him softly push the animal off his arm and watched as it drifted down to the bottom of the open space like it had fallen asleep, then the caiman awakened and swam away like it had no idea what had just happened. It left to go ashore on one of the riverbanks near the temple.

"What the fuck, Levi?!" Was the first thing you said, well, more like yelled. "Are you out of your mind?!" You angrily spoke as you swam up to him.

"Honestly, you don't have a single reason to be angry right now." He argued in his monotone voice like his life hadn't just been on the line. 

 _"What happened?"_ Sounded through the radio, but Erwin's question went by completely ignored since Mike decided to butt in the conversation.

"He's kinda right you know- "

"Not now Mike, not now." You raised a threatening finger up in the water without looking at the man that approached Levi too now. A sigh left your mouth as you saw that Levi's wetsuit was ripped where the caiman had bit him, not that you were surprised. However, there was no blood nor any wounds, the only thing you could see was that Levi was going to have a massive bruise on his arm for the following weeks. "Idiot, you scared me." You softly said as you gently took a hold of his arm, Levi slightly winced but made sure you wouldn't notice.

"I'm okay. Caiman don't have sharp teeth, they usually crush their prey and rip them- "

"Levi, you do realize that this is not making the situation any better." A warning tone was laced through your voice.

"Right," He sighed and a short silence followed, "I'm okay." Was all he said, taking your hand off his arm.

“I know I might just be interrupting a lovey-dovey moment and all but man, what on earth was that all about?” Mike sighed, and indeed the tender mood from before had disappeared like snow in the sun. 

Before you or Levi could speak, that life ruining sound was heard again, those eerie tunes and unidentifiable melody sounded like they came from somewhere close by. Then all of you remembered that you were supposed to exit the area through the man-made hallway to go after the Song of Dragons. It was odd, like the song had been waiting for that whole scene to unfold before it would play again. 

But the three of you decided you were done with wasting time. Mike offered to support Levi but the man declined, saying that there were more important things than his arm right now. Like any other situation in which the Sound of Dragons had been heard, the suspense was unimaginable as you turned the corner to get closer to the exit of the hallway. And as you stopped at the end of the corridor to see what was going on at the Spirit Falls, everyone fell silent. 

“What the… Are you seeing what I’m seeing? You have got to be kidding me. Tell me I’m not seeing a whale, here, in a river!” Mike exclaimed, and indeed a Minkle Whale was swimming in the river. This was unreal, not any of you believed what you were seeing.

“Hanji, are you getting this?” A surprised laugh left your mouth when you said so.

_“Very clearly, a whale has made its way upstream.”_

“What are you talking about? It can’t have just swam up this far!” The salvager yelled out in confusion.

 _“It’s not as unbelievable as it sounds. Minkle Whales are small and normally live in the Atlantic Ocean, but in 2007 one was spotted in a tributary of the Amazon River, which must be more than sixteen hundred kilometers away. It wasn’t a one-off incident either, there are more and more reports of similar incidents recently. It’s still not clear whether it’s caused by failure of the whale’s echolocation or by some other problem, but theories are that environmental issues may be contributing to these cases.”_ Again, none of you believed that that was real but since it was Hanji telling you this you had no choice but to believe it.

“Well, if you say so… I still can’t believe it! I thought it was a dragon! I was sure I was a goner!” The blonde diver laughed.

“Let’s call it a day.” Levi suddenly said as the smaller whale appeared to turn around in the space before the temple entrance and left.

“Are you sure?” You asked, concerned about why he wanted to stop so early on although you understood since you had gotten a lapis lazuli tablet and Levi was hurt.

“No Pacifica treasure, but at least we got a new tablet! I agree.” Mike said.

“Hanji could read the inscriptions on this new one, so maybe we’ll learn something new from this tablet." Was the explanation Levi gave you, although he didn't look at you and watched the whale disappear in the distance.

Since the Song of Dragons had sounded, it was like all bigger animals in the river had suddenly disappeared or had hidden themselves away somewhere. There was no trace of electric eels, caiman or piranhas and the river seemed clearer than before although it could have been your imagination. The boat was reached soon and you honestly couldn't believe that you had gotten out of here alive and well although, Levi wasn't as lucky as you. 

* * *

 


	18. Chapter 18

Back on the boat, Hanji and Erwin had been extremely relieved to see that the damage that had been done to Levi was nothing too serious. The fisherman that had brought you here had said that he was surprised that every single one of you had managed to return, it was not something he saw often. Like the other locals, the man firmly believed in every legend surrounding the Spirit Falls. Hence why it had been hard to find someone like him, the other people living in the area around the Cortica River wouldn't dare to come close to the Spirit Falls and he had been the only one who wanted to take you somewhat up the river. 

You were surprised with a hug from Hanji who was relieved that you were okay, ever since the incident at the Weddell Sea you and her had become closer and you could even say that the two of you had become good friends. It wasn't something that you had expected, you thought it would become hard to keep up with her genius rambling but that wasn't as bad as you expected. Although, she could get a little out of hand now and then, especially when she would talk about the marine life she had investigated and the numerous shipwrecks she had discovered.

“So, how did it go?” Erwin asked when everyone had calmed down and the kind fisherman was taking you back to the harbor where the five of you came from.

“It was one crazy adventure! Naturally, I played a crucial part!” Mike smugly smirked as he crossed his arms.

“Did you now.” Levi deadpanned, you could hear the amusement in his voice and decided to tease Mike with him.

“I think you’re forgetting the part where you were too scared to chase a sound and shoved Levi in front of an enraged crocodile because you were frightened.” You joked, even though the situation had been rather serious back at that moment. Levi didn't seem to mind as he glanced your way with the hint of a smirk on his lips.

"Hey, come on- "

“Oh, so that’s what happened. I didn’t realize the famous MZ was such a chicken!” Erwin laughed, obviously being sarcastic about the whole MZ thing.

“Why’d you have to go and tell them everything?” The tall man whined. “Come on, you don’t think something like the Song of Dragons would spook me, do you?” Mike looked at Erwin.

“So you heard the Song of Dragons here too? Fascinating! So the sound doesn't seem to transfer through the microphones you carry.” The professor rubbed her chin as she appeared to be in deep thought on the matter.

“Only this time, nothing severe happened. You have both returned safely, apart from Levi” Erwin said with a small sigh. At the mentioning of Levi's injury you looked at him and saw that the bruise was already forming on the part of his arm that you could see because of his ripped wetsuit. He noticed you staring and when you made eye contact he shook his head slightly, signaling you that you shouldn't worry about him. 

“What about the curse of the Song of Dragons? We were set upon by a ferocious croc!”

“Whenever you say that I just think about those horrendous shoes.” You laughed.

“Well anyway,” He tried to dismiss your joke “we did come across this.” Mike gestured to Levi who got the hint.

The raven-haired diver retrieved the lapis lazuli tablet from one of the pouches on his equipment and silently gave it to Hanji whose eyes widened at the sight. An almost maniacal grin spread across her features and she squealed at the find, there was her crazy side again.

“The Cortica Slate, one of the Okeanos Tablets!" The brunette excitedly said.

“You knew this was here?” Was what you asked her, suddenly confused about what she said. 

“I’ve read about it on another tablet.” Hanji said like it was the most normal thing in the world.

"And you didn't care to tell us?" You exclaimed, seeming to be the only one who made a big deal about it.

"I've been busy! And hey, that was like some years ago, give me a break!" She laughed and you sighed, but as you thought about it it was kind of stupid to get worked up about it since the five of you had the tablet now.

“Hey, you can read it, can’t you? What does it say?” Mike butted in on the conversation.

“It’s an amazing find! It’s the most well-preserved so far. Even the most detailed parts are clearly legible, so I should be able to decipher it in no time. I wonder what information it holds…” The professor trailed off as she started murmuring about theories and other speculations.

As the local maneuvered you all back to where you mounted the boat, Hanji was busy deciphering the newly found Okeanos Tablet. When you weren’t even back at the docks yet she yelled out that she had found out what the tablet said. Erwin asked her what it said and professor Zoë was more than happy to answer.

“Well, it chronicles the rise and fall of the Okeanides. According to this, they were a people who spoke to and controlled dragons. To do this they used something they refer to as the Dragon Flute. The Dragon Flute was made of lapis lazuli, and could be used to awaken the dragons and give them orders. However, the Dragon Flute was dismantled and thrown into the deepest depths of the sea in order to protect the royal treasure, which is guarded by the dragons.” 

“A lapis lazuli flute thrown into the deepest depths of the sea?” Erwin repeated.

“Levi’s pendants!” Was the first thing that you blurted out, everyone turned to you and Levi stared at you with wide eyes as the realization hit him. 

“Yes, that’s it! The pendants that Kenny left!” Levi said with wide eyes. “Erwin, didn’t you say that Kenny found them during a deep sea survey when you were working together years ago? So these two pendants fit together to form the Dragon Flute?”

“Wait, there’s more.” Hanij interrupted him. “It says the Dragon Flute was divided into three pieces and when they are assembled the dragon can be awoken.”

“Three pieces, so where’s the third?” You asked.

“Let’s go search wherever Erwin and your old man found those pieces. If I go over the ground, I’ll find whatever they missed!” The blonde salvager confidently said.

“Uncle.” Levi corrected Mike and the tall man made an apologetic gesture.

“No, that won’t be necessary.” Erwin said. “The third piece is in the HD-9 mini-sub. The one your uncle Kenny was in when he had the accident.” He spoke as he looked at Levi.

“How do you know that?” Levi narrowed his eyes.

“We can talk about that later,” Erwin saw that you had arrived at the docks, “everyone must be tired now. I will tell you the whole story when we get back to Maria Island." And before anyone could protest, the blonde had already left the boat.

A worried look was exchanged with Hanji and when you looked over to Levi you widened your eyes. You had never seen him this angry before, not even when he was shouting at you back in The Hole of Trost. Hanji and Mike decided to leave the boat with all of the brought equipment after thanking the kind local for taking the five of you up and down the river. But you decided to stick with Levi, even when he tried to shrug you off as you helped him off the boat. He mumbled something under his breath about his legs not being injured and that he was able to walk just fine but as you put his uninjured arm around your shoulder you knew he wasn't okay. His body temperature was abnormally high, even if it was pretty hot around the river. You figured he must have been hurting badly this entire time and felt horrible for letting him even get injured in the first place, even though you wouldn't have been able to do anything about it.

* * *

Back at the place you were all staying in for the rest of the day everyone was just resting. Hanji had taken a good look at Levi's arm and was happy to announce that he hadn't broken any bones. However, his arm was heavily bruised and he would have trouble moving it for the next week or so. You were so glad that the professor was with you, everyone would have probably been panicking badly if there wasn't someone around with medical knowledge. Hanji made Levi a sling out of some fabric that he could rest his arm in. 

At last everyone had left the room and you were left sitting next to the stoic man on the bottom bunk bed. He remained silent and you nervously twiddled with your fingers. You always were a bit clueless with what to do when he was angered. But as you thought about it, you had no reason to be nervous. Levi had been angry before and you knew he needed to lash out before turning completely silent, but now he hadn't said a word since you left the boat and you worried for him. The only option that was left was to ask him what was wrong even when you could already guess the answer yourself.

"Levi," You started, gently placing a hand on his shoulder to make sure you wouldn't accidentally hurt him, "why are you mad at Erwin?" 

Levi sighed, closing his eyes before speaking. "He doesn't tell me anything. As we continue to find out more about the Song of Dragons I find out that he knows more about Kenny than I thought he did. I wonder how much he isn't telling me, I have a right to know things that are about Kenny. That stupid selfish bastard..." He clenched his fist until his knuckled turned white. For a moment you had no idea what to say, Levi was completely right. It was wrong of Erwin to keep such things from Levi even when the older man thought it was the best thing for him. 

"He said he would tell us everything when we're back at the island." You softly said as you looked at him with pity, you felt utterly useless right now. There were no other comforting words you could think of and you thought Levi would rather have some along time right now, so you started to stand up to leave. However, Levi placed his hand from his unharmed arm on your hand that still rested on his shoulder.

"Stay for a while." Was all he said, he didn't look at you but with a small smile you obliged. You went to sit on his other side and pulled his head to rest on your shoulder as you stroked his dark hair softly.

You turned your head so that you nuzzled in his ebony locks. "It's all going to be fine. We've got this." He relaxed at you whispered words but didn't say anything to reply, you didn't mind though. Levi must have been exhausted since he fell asleep a few minutes after he had laid his head on your shoulder. 

You tried to lay him down on the mattress as gently as possible, not wanting to wake him up from the sleep he rarely got. Levi was tucked in between the soft mattress and warm blanket you had placed on top of him. A soft chuckle escaped your lips as you looked at his unusual peaceful expression. It wouldn't be the end of the world to give up your bottom bunk for this one time. You hadn't even had dinner yet but you decided you wouldn't wake him up for that, judging from the usual dark circles underneath his eyes he was tired enough to sleep util the next morning. 

As softly as you could manage you closed the door to the tiny room you shared with him and left to find the others to tell them that Levi wouldn't be joining you all for dinner. You weren't exactly looking forward to the next day, a grim mood had fallen over everyone since Erwin had said those words on the boat. Everyone was left to wonder what the thing would be that he had to tell you.

Erwin was going to confide something from even deeper within his past. You returned to Maria Island the next day to listen.

* * *

The five of you had arrived at Maria Island deep in the night, everyone soon went to sleep, wondering what information Erwin would share with you the next day. 

“All right, you promised you’d tell us. So start talking.” Levi said as everyone had gathered at the dining table at breakfast the next morning.

“You say the third piece of this pendant is where his uncle’s sub sank. What’s it doing there?” Mike questioned the blonde.

“Well… it all began twenty years ago. Kenny and I used the HD-9 submarine to explore the depths of the Zahhab Region in the Red Sea. We heard a strange sound there. Looking back, perhaps it was the Song of Dragons. Immediately afterwards, we found three pieces of lapis lazuli. I thought they were old jewelry, I never imagined they could be the Dragon Flute, key to the Pacifica Treasure. Once we returned to land, Kenny examined them and I can only imagined he realized what they were. That was when he started hunting for the Pacifica Treasure. I have already told you the rest of what happened afterwards.” Erwin sighed, not fond of recalling these memories even when he had to.

“So Kenny had all three pieces of the flute.” Hanji concluded.

“Yes. Some years ago, not long before you joined the Diving Service, Kenny went back down to the Zahhab Region Depths in the HD-9. But the engines failed and the submarine couldn’t move, the air inside ran out. When the rescue team came for him they found the submarine empty, like I’ve told you before Levi. He must have tried to escape. Without the proper equipment at a depths of over one hundred and fifty meters, he tried to swim out by himself…”

It was almost the same story as Levi had told you the first day you arrived here, but it seemed that Erwin had still kept a lot more secrets from him.

“Man, that’s really something else…” Mike sighed.

“The rescue team found only two pieces of the flute. The third piece… must still be inside the submarine. And… that’s the whole story.” A heavy silence filled the room and no one dared to speak up.

“Thanks for telling us Erwin, it must have been hard to talk about.” The first one to speak was you as Levi remained silent this entire time.

“You must understand that this is the only connection I have left to Kenny, I can’t give this up.” Levi softly said, knowing where this conversation was going.

“I can’t let you… You can’t go alone.” The blonde man stared at the table to avoid eye contact with Levi as he said those words.

“Erwin!” Of course, Levi couldn't believe that Erwin would start on this again. But the man decided to speak up before Levi could say any more.

“I will go with you. I need to be able to face the past… and Kenny.”

“Erwin…” Now, Levi uttered his name merely because he was speechless this time around.

“We’ll solve this riddle together, that’s all there is to it.” Hanji smiled.

“Great… I guess I’m with you guys till the end too.” Mike laughed.

“Hanji, Mike…” You smiled at them, not believing they were going to pursue this mystery till the end with you.

“Hey, don’t get me wrong! I’m only in it for the Pacifica Treasure!” The salvager said, of course he would act like he didn't do this for you guys.

“Sure you are.” Hanji laughed and pushed her glasses up the bride of her nose.

“Let’s go to the Red Sea then.” A smile stretched across your lips.

“Right, we’re solving this mystery.” Levi smirked.  

"Not so fast," Erwin interrupted and everyone gave him a glare for ruining the positive mood "Levi you need to heal first. You can't dive with your arm until it's healed."

"Unfortunately I must agree with you this time Erwin. But that's okay, we have plenty of work to do now that we're back on the island." That was true indeed, the jobs had been piling up since the diving service was busy with chasing the Song of Dragons instead of getting some work done. So while Levi would be healing everyone else would be making sure that S&A Diving Service was getting back on track. 

* * *


	19. Chapter 19

The next day it was rather cloudy on Maria Island. A chilly wind swept across the sand and you noticed that it was the first time that the weather had ever been like this on the island. Well, perhaps there had been bad days when you had been traveling to find clues on the Song of Dragons but this was the first time experiencing colder weather over here. You could still wear shorts although you had pulled a big sweater on to keep yourself comfortable, but you had decided to spend most of your day inside the pleasant cabin. 

Erwin had asked you to take care of this email a divers magazine had sent to the company, they had some questions about the discovery of Reiss Castle. A small huff escaped your lips as you read the questions they were asking on your laptop, it was already half a year ago since you had officially joined the diving service and the discovery of Reiss Castle was only three months ago. It was crazy to think about all the things that had happened in your life in such a short amount of time. But you were really grateful for it, even when you had faced numerous dangers and almost died once, it was nothing you regretted.

As you were absorbed in writing down the answers on all the questions the magazine had for you, someone startled you when they put a cup of steaming hot tea down on the table next to you. Well, you could say the person almost slammed the cup down since the sound had startled you out of your concentration. Looking up, you were met with familiar steel gray eyes and a small smile spread across your face in recognition.

"What are you up to?" The man questioned as he sat down next to you in one of the wooden chairs next to the dining table. Levi seemed relaxed and you stared at his arm that still rested in the sling he wore around his neck, a small sigh leaving your mouth.

"Nothing much, a diving magazine asking questions about Reiss Castle. Erwin set me up to the task but that's only obvious, we found the thing after all." Was all you said as you tore your gaze from his injured arm and focussed back on writing for the magazine. 

"Sounds like a drag." Levi said, taking a sip of his tea as he held his cup in a peculiar way.

"It _would_ be a drag to you, I don't really care although I prefer doing photo requests." You said to him. A comfortable silence followed as the only sound filling the room consisted of the ticking of you typing on your laptop or Levi who set his cup down on the table after having taken a quiet sip of his hot beverage. 

After a couple of minutes you finished with writing for one question, having only two more to go. A sigh left your mouth as you reached for the tea that Levi had brought with him for you. You held it in your hands for a moment, enjoying how it warmed your cool hands. After taking a small sip to prevent yourself from burning your tongue you closed your eyes and sighed, Levi really was remarkable at making tea. You mumbled a 'thank you' and he hummed in reply.

The time that you had spent finishing answering the questions was consumed in silence. Just when you were done with tying the final word you leaned back agains the chair and stretched your arms above your head, groaning as a few joints popped. Finally pressing 'send' to make sure the email would arrive at wherever the magazine took care of its emails, you closed the laptop and downed the last bit of tea you had left. You turned to look at Levi who was staring out of the window on the other side of the dining table, once again your (Eye Color) eyes drifted to his arm.

"Are you alright?" The words came out shakier than you had planned. Levi turned his head to look at you and found you staring at his arm with a weak frown on your face. When you made eye contact with him he decided to answer, he couldn't help but let his harsh glare soften when he looked at your worried state.

"It's just a bruise, I'll get over it." He reassured you. You knew he would get over it, but you couldn't stand the thought of him being in pain. Somehow you still felt as if all of that was your fault, even though Levi had told you numerous of times not to worry about it. You heard the man sigh and stand up, you followed him with your gaze and he just ruffled your hair gently.

"Stop blaming yourself for this." And with that he left the cabin.

* * *

The following days passed extremely slowly, the weather around the island had been gloomy and chilly and even though you could cuddle up with some blankets inside the cabin it didn't make it al too fun to be in the entire time. You had thought of going out for a swim in the Gatama Atoll but you thought it wouldn't be as comfortable and lively with this kind of weather, the water was probably much colder. The days were spent by reading books and doing various jobs for S&A Diving Service. 

Hanji worked on her research and was in constant contact with Armin Arlert, the young man who was in charge of the aquarium where you first met the professor. She told you that because of your great job on helping out at the aquarium that it had become a great hit and that people from over the entire country visited it. The professor tried to get more research done on the Okeanos tablets but she didn't find any big news much to everyone's disappointment but then again, if it were easy the riddle of the Song of Dragons would have been solved already and the Pacifica Treasure would have been long found.

You hadn't seen Mike around much, he spent almost all of his days diving in the Gatama Atoll in the hope to find something that was worth some money. It was quite weird actually, even though every single one of you were divers, everyone was so different from each other. Hanji was doing constant research, Mike was only on the hunt for something shiny and you had honestly nothing much to do other than small jobs for the diving service. Levi had been busy trying to entertain himself without entering the water since Hanji told him not to and he found it to be rather hard. He must have been so bored the past days, even you were quite tired of sitting around all day and you were doing jobs while he was doing nothing much other than reading or watching boring soap series on tv.

One day when the sun was out for a bit you decided to hang around outside of the cabin, you walked along the shore and felt the salty water caress your feet with every breaking wave. In your state of daydreaming you hadn't noticed that you were already at the other side of the island where the sun loungers stood. When you looked at the pair of sun loungers you saw that one was occupied by a certain salvager, you figured that this was the right moment to chat with him and maybe find more about him. After all, you were still certain that Mike was hiding something.

"Hey, aren't you the famous MZ?" You joked as you walked up to him, he looked at you with a cocky smirk and didn't mind your teasing one bit. "Can I please have your autograph?" As you said that last part you couldn't hide your grin and laughed at the stupendous words you had just said.

"I mean, I won't sign anything for free. Depending on where you want me to sign of course." He said as you sat down next to him in the white sun lounger.

"Wow, I'm starting to think that you and Levi are ganging up on me with your stupid, gross jokes." A laugh escaped your lips.

"What can I say? This is the famous MZ." Mike grinned.

"Right, so when did you turn salvaging into your career?" Deciding not to beat around the bush you asked him a question to break the ice.

"The life at sea was something my family had been doing for decades. My grandfather was a fisherman, my father a diver who mostly found shipwrecks and other old stuff that had sunken into the sea. He invited me to come with him on one of his surveys and we found this amazing shipwreck, I was still a teenager back then and had no idea that it would be so awesome. So of course, me as the talented youngster I was, had a knack for finding those valuable items you know. As you had expected, I still do. But back then I decided that was the coolest thing ever- which it totally still is, and I kept doing it until this very day." The salvager rubbed the stubble on his chin and you nodded in understanding, already mentally celebrating that you had found out more about the handsome man. 

"So that's it?" You boldly asked.

"What?" Mike got caught off guard by your question for a moment before regaining his composure. "I mean, if you want to hear my astonishing, impressive, dramatic stories of my amazing finds then I do have a lot more in store." 

"Hmm," You narrowed your eyes at him and just decided to call him out on what was bothering you, "is there no different reason why you are looking for the Pacifica Treasure other than that you want money?" He gulped, so you were right all along.

”What makes you think that?” He laughed it off.

”Just that a famous diver like you should have all the connections to important figures that can help him with that. And it especially weirds me out that you came asking for a diving partner here at Maria Island. What’s up with all that?” It seems that you had triggered some sort of memory with him as his eyes darkened and he looked down, his long bangs shielding his eyes. He sniffed a couple of times and regained his posture, but now he wore a  serious look instead of his usual jolly facial expression.

”I had a diving partner, no, I still have. Although, she is in a coma.” Mike said, not meeting your eyes with his.

”Oh... shit I’m so sorry Mike.” You said and put a comforting hand on his shoulder.

”She had a diving accident and she ended up in the hospital. Her family isn’t particularly wealthy and I feel horribly guilty for letting this happen to her, so I salvage anything I can find and send them the money to keep paying for her life support. That’s why I want to find the Pacifica Treasure, to make sure I can pay her hospital bills until she wakes up and we can dive together once again.” A short silence fell after Mike’s story. You never expected him to open up like this to you. It was new to see Mike care for someone else so much and you decided to keep the conversation going.

”What’s her name?” 

“Nanaba.” He smiled faintly at the mentioning of her name. “We met when it turned out that we were after the same treasure in a shipwreck in the North Sea close to Denmark. We had to work together to get to what we wanted and somehow we decided that it would be better to keep working together, we were a pretty good team.” 

“I’m pretty sure you still are a pretty good team.” Mike looked up at you with wide eyes and then his lips stretched into a broad grin. 

“I mean,” An arrogant huff left his mouth, “we were kinda famous and all that jazz but y’know it’s nothing.” You laughed, glad to see him back in his usual demeanor again.

”I’d love to meet her when she wakes up.” You said after a short silence.

”I’m sure she’d like you. But we have a treasure to find, don’t we? You better not fall behind with your work over here cause otherwise you’re not allowed to come with us to the Red Sea, of course.” The tall man stood up from his seat in the sun lounger and crossed his arms as he looked down at you.

”Pff, oh please! As if Erwin would do that”. A few giggles escaped your mouth at the thought alone, knowing the blonde he would never leave someone behind. 

“Right, I will see you around (First)! And, we keep this conversation between the two of us okay?” He gently said and you smiled at him.

”Of course, you tell the rest whenever you feel like doing so.” And with that Mike left you alone to sit in one of the white sun loungers. 

* * *

Two weeks had passed since the company of S&A Diving Service had returned from the Cortica River in Brazil. Levi’s arm was out of the sling he had worn for over a week and a half but his movements still looked a little stiff. Erwin did not allow him to dive of course, but the raven-haired man found his own way to get into the water.

As usual he would play around in the water with 'brat' that still loved to hang around the island. Much to your disappointment, the creature still seemed to love Levi a lot more than you no matter how you tried to befriend it. It seemed that the man had a certain way with animals that you couldn't figure out. When Hanji found out about this she had wanted to do experiments that would measure Levi's bond with the dolphin however, Levi had refused very, very clearly. It left the professor quite defeated although you were able to laugh about the exchange, it was kind of adorable to see such a stoic man like Levi getting all protective over a dolphin. 

Things were starting to get a little less busy for the diving service and everyone was able to take it slow for a bit. Although you had a lot of time for yourself on the island, there were still a couple of things bothering you. You had texted Eren and Mikasa about the things you had seen and found in the Cortica River and about what happened to Levi, once again their reaction was mixed with concern and relief. However, your feelings of guilt were consuming you. You were still blaming yourself for Levi's injury for no reason at all, even Eren and Mikasa had told you that it had definitely not been your fault from what you had told them but it didn't make you feel any better.

Today was one of the days where you'd rather hide out in your [room](http://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/77/4a/9d/774a9db43daf47c27d261736ee97bff0.jpg)the entire day without having to bother anyone. Although the broad windows made sure a lot of light entered the space, you couldn't help but feel a little gloomy. You honestly didn't want to bother anyone with your struggles since everyone had the same answers for you: _'it's not your fault, don't worry about it.'_ But no one seemed to realize that it was definitely not that easy. Somehow this particular situation had really stuck with you. That, and even though you had never told anyone, what happened at the Weddell Sea was also something you had wanted to talk about some more with Levi even though you already had. You felt you like you had to speak about what happened more to get rid of your conflicted feelings. Wether it was about what happened at the Antarctic or the Cortica River, even though you felt like you were bothering Levi with it.

Your constant spiral of thoughts was interrupted by two knocks on your door. With a simple 'come in' you welcomed the unknown guest into your room and when the door creaked open you saw Levi peeking his head through the opening. With a small smile you waved him over to come in and he closed the door behind him. You sat cross legged on your bed and he joined you, his side facing you although he turned his head your way to look you in the eyes.

"How are you holding up?" He questioned, genuine concern detectable in his voice.

"Okay, I suppose." You shrugged, looking away and pulling a face to gesture that you didn't really know for certain.

"What's on your mind?" Levi softly asked as he looked right at you even though you didn't dare to meet his eyes.

"It's stupid." He saw you shake your head to dismiss the topic, but Levi knew better.

"Well it's  _clearly_  not stupid since it has been bothering you for weeks, and yes brat, I notice." Since the raven-haired man called you 'brat' again it meant that you were annoying him so, you decided it was best to tell him the truth.

"It's just that," You sighed and rolled your eyes to get over yourself, "I still feel guilty about you getting hurt. And I know it's stupid and that you don't blame me but that doesn't mean I'll stop blaming myself just because you say that. And I'm not sure... I guess the stuff that happened back at the Antarctic still bothers me somehow." 

"I mean," Levi sighed and remained silent for a moment, "what happened at the Antarctic is not something anyone would forget in a few days. I'm afraid it'll haunt us till the end of our shitty lives. I'm not sure what to say about you feeling guilty though." The man in front of you had averted his gaze from your form and stared out of the windows. 

"That's better than scrambling some shitty comforting words together, I guess." A small chuckle left your mouth and you heard him huff as his shoulders shook once.

"I'm sorry, that's all I've got." Your eyes widened at his apology and you immediately reached out for his arm but when you realized that it would still might hurt you retracted your hand. He noticed and sighed as he raked a hand through his hair and moved so that he faced you, copying you as he sat cross legged too now.

His hands reached for yours and he tenderly rubbed his thumbs over the back of your hands, not saying a word for a while. Another sigh escaped Levi's mouth and he seemed to be at a loss for words, something that was rare for him. 

"It's never easy, recovering from those kinds of things. Even when you're not the one getting physically hurt. But it's... it's a good thing we have each other. That way we can help each other with small things but also with these kinds of things, we can help each other make choices we won't regret. And now I'm done with this cheesy bullshit." A small smirk stretched across his features after that last sentence and you smiled at him, thankful of how he handled the situation.

"Thank you, Levi." You said, the corners of his lips tugged upwards slightly. He didn't say anything but leaned his elbows on his knees and lowered his head to place a soft kiss on your hands that he was still holding. After that short and surprising exchange he got up from your bed and walked towards the door to leave your room, stopping once he was about to open it to leave.

"Make sure to get some rest, it'll do you good." And you nodded at him with a smile on your face before watching the man leave your room and close the door behind him. With a sigh you crawled under the warm covers of your bed and smiled as you closed your eyes.

* * *

 


	20. Chapter 20

It has been a few months since Levi’s recovery. As much as you all would like to continue with the investigation Erwin brought you all the news that you had to stay for a month longer to raise enough money for the flights and accommodation, Erwin wanted to make sure that the company wouldn’t get into financial trouble and as much as everyone hated to admit it, there wasn’t much that could be done about it. The service had been spending more than it had been earning, even with the sponsors it had received after the professor joined them Erwin still had to pay attention to whatever the company was spending.

It wouldn't be long before you all could go to the Zahhab Region of the Red Sea at Egypt's east coast. There weren't a lot of jobs to do anymore and now that the sun was out again you wanted to relax at the docks, your feet dangled in the salty water and you looked over the horizon that was filled with only the blue of the great ocean. Footsteps approached you and you looked up to see Hanji standing over you, blocking the sun that shone onto your back.

"Mind if I join you?" She asked.

"Go ahead." You smiled and scooted over to make place for her to sit. Hanji kicked her flip flops off and sat down, her feet splashing into the salty water. 

"Ahh," she sighed and closed her eyes, "this really is a nice place to sit. No wonder I always see you here." A chuckle escaped your mouth at her comment and you hummed in response.

"It's relaxing to sit here, I suppose." Was all you said and she nodded in agreement.

"You know, I'm aware that we're not besties or anything but I was kind of wondering about something." The brunette said.

"Oh? And what should that be?" You laughed a bit at how she started her story.

"Since you have given me permission, what's the deal with you and shorty?" A small frown spread across your features as you didn't quite understand what she meant. 

"What is it with us?" 

"Well I mean, I don't presume everyone visits you in your bedroom ever so often." She pushed her glasses up the bridge of her nose and you couldn't help but guffaw at what she had been hinting at.

"Oh Hanji, there is absolutely nothing to worry about. We're not dating, he just shows up sometimes to ask how I'm doing given what we've been through you know, about the Antarctic and all." You explained to her.

"Oh right! I'm sorry. I didn't mean to assume things but I was just wondering about it, although you two would be cute together, just saying." She shrugged her shoulders and watched as you shook your head with a smile on your face. Even if you yourself wouldn't admit it yet, Hanji had enough experience in life to know that there might be some extra feelings you held towards the man but she wouldn't press anything. After a short silence she spoke up again when she leaned back on the palms of her hands. "So you're still struggling with what happened back at the Antarctic?" 

"I don't know why either but I suppose so. Levi said that it wasn't weird or anything and that it wasn't something I'd get over in a day but I still feel stupid since it looks like he doesn't struggle with it at all." A sigh left your mouth.

"Hey, you're not shorty. And there's a huge difference between getting over something or being able to hide something really well." She waved her pointer finger at you to make her point.

"True, ugh I wish we could just leave for Egypt soon so that I can get my mind off of it." An aggravated sigh left your mouth in frustration and Hanji chuckled at you.

"It'll be okay sweetie. You're a strong woman and I know it! And you have us, the people here at S&A Diving Service are good people, I can tell." The professor ruffled your hair before standing up to leave. You thanked her and watched as she headed back to the cottage on the island.

* * *

Zahhab Region, Red Sea, East Coast of Egypt

This area off Egypt’s east coast sports a breathtaking coral reef. Divers come from far and wide to explore its shallows and depths while other gather there to watch the whales all year round. It's a famous location and after many months of waiting you could finally see it with your own eyes. Everyone was quietly sitting in the boat that Erwin had rented and he had laid it still above a big coral reef. Now all of you would discuss what the plan was to dive in the depths.

“This place has not changed one bit in twenty years.” Erwin muttered to himself as he looked over the bright blue water.

“The Red Sea forms a barrier between north-east Africa and the Arabian peninsula. It was formerly called the Erythrean Sea, and has played quite a large part in human history.” Hanji told you with a maniacal grin on her face, definitely excited to find out what was down here.

“Yeah, and it’s still full of secrets. Which makes it a salvager’s paradise!” Mike grinned and crossed his arms as he too, casted his gaze to the clear water.

“If you go north-east of here, to the center of the area, you will see two large crevasses in the ocean floor, known as the Twin Crevasses. It was in the depths of those crevasses that we first heard the Song of Dragons. The submarine HD-9… should still be down there as well.” Erwin said.

“So, how deep are the Zahhab Region Depths exactly?” You asked.

“About one hundred-fifty to two hundred meters deep.” He answered.

“That deep?! What about the water pressure?” With wide eyes you looked around the boat, wondering why you had missed out on all this information as everyone seemed to be calm and collected.

“Actually,” Hanji piped with a raised finger, “I’ve prepared a special air mixture for this deep dive. But don’t forget you’ll still use a lot of air in the depths so you have a very limited amount of time that you can spend down there. I’m not sure if you’ll even have time to finish your investigation. Mike and I will look around the coral reef in front of the Crevasses to do some research on the area so, we'll have plenty of time since we don't have to dive so deep.” 

“And that’s where I come in. Worship me, people! I call this plan: Operation Air Station!” A few groans in annoyance were heard on the boat because of the rhyming name but everyone remained quiet as Mike continued his explanation of the plan. “Its simple. We fill a huge tank with the special air mixture, then drop it over the side of the boat down the crevasse! Then, if we start running out of air, no problem! We head to the big tank and refill our tanks from it!”

“Ah! Like a petrol station, but with air?” You seemed to get where he was coming from and seeing as this might work a smile formed on your face.

“Bingo! Salvage Operation 101: Always bring a backup!” Mike winked when he saw that Levi scoffed at him.

“That doesn’t sound like a bad idea, let me prepare the bigger tank. Good thing that this boat actually has extra tanks.” Hanji said as she immediately scurried off to get to work. Soon she had finished with securing two tanks of air together and filled them with the air mixture. A small balloon orange balloon filled with helium was tied to the tanks, Hanji said that it was so that you would be able to spot it easier.

“Very well, then we are prepared. Let us begin!” Erwin announced when he had a quick talk with Hanji after she finished preparing the tanks.

Erwin maneuvered the boat to float over the Twin Crevasses and he together with Mike dropped the tank into the water. Hanji had located it to be the perfect area to drop it in so that nothing could go wrong. Now all you had to do was find it in the depths.

“The tank has been successfully sunk into the Southern Crevasse. As MZ has said, we will now refer to that tank as an air station. First, you should dive down to the Southern Crevasse and find the air station. Look,” Erwin showed everyone a map with a big red mark on one of two dark Y shaped lines in the sea which you presumed to be the Twin Crevasses, “I have marked the location of the tank in the Twin Crevasses as you can see, it shouldn’t be hard to find. Everything is in place. You should be able to go now!”

“Right, let’s do this!” You cheered.

“Man, why are we still up here.” Mike chuckled.

“I like the your fire (First), let’s go.” Hanji smirked as Levi remained silent. Everyone prepared to go out into the water and event though you would split up in teams in the water and Erwin would be left behind on the boat, everyone felt connected somehow.

As you dove into the water along with everyone else you remembered what you had learnt about the Zahhab Region Depths and the Twin Crevasses when you had done some research on the area. Pods of Grey Whales can be seen here all year round. Long fissures run along the sea bed, as if the sea is inviting divers to its depths. It sounded a little creepy but mostly interesting, the one thing you were less excited about was diving into the deep unknown. It had already been your source of fear to look down in the deep dark in Canada and it was slightly unnerving at the Weddell Sea, but now you actually had to go down there. 

Levi and you parted ways with Hanji and Mike and Erwin contacted you through the radio.  _“Can you hear me? This is Erwin. As you can guess the Twin Crevasses area a pair of chasms, running north-south shaped like two Y’s. To repeat myself, we have sunk the air station into the Southern Crevasse, so start your exploration of the Zahhab Region Depths from there.”_

When the two crevasses came in sight, another surprise was added to the area. A pack of, from what you could see, at least three whales swam around the area. They looked incredibly calm and peaceful like they didn't have a single care in the world. 

“Look, that is the [Grey Whale](http://www.divephotoguide.com/images/photos/orig/8843_1334342699_1.jpg), an endangered species. They take to humans very well, which is why they have been all but wiped out. There are conservation groups trying to preserve the population, but offshore oil fields and shipping traffic continue to endanger their habitat. The day when they live without the threat of extinction cannot come soon enough…” Levi trailed off at the last part. The Grey Whales emitted a beautiful sound, something like a peaceful cry to communicate with one another. But both you and Levi couldn't stay distracted by these gorgeous creatures and headed over to the southern crevasse. Right before the two of you were about to enter the deep darkness that seemed to go on forever, Erwin spoke over the radio.

 _“The deeper you dive, the more dangerous it will become. Please, be careful.”_ And with that you and Levi descended into something what seemed like a never-ending darkness.

 _A world bereft of the sun, these caverns contain their own unique forms of marine life. This includes deep-water sharks, so enter with caution._ Why did articles you had read on the internet always pop up into your mind as you were about to do something on an expedition? The idea that some dangerous creatures lurked down here didn't put you at ease and Levi noticed that you dove slower than him even though the two of you were already cautiously descending because of the water pressure.

"Come on, we don't have all day." He said and turned to you, reaching out with his hand for you to take. And so you did, Levi slowly pulled you along with him and you felt you courage slowly returning to you. At one point Levi looked at a certain meter he had attached to his wrist to see how deep down the two of you were and he announced the number to Erwin.

_“You have dived quite some way, but you must go even further down. The air station is at the very bottom. First, make sure to replenish your air supply. Also, remember that at those depths, neither your equipment nor diving level will allow you to reduce the amount of air you use."_

Without words the two of you kept heading down, even with the flashlights of your equipment on they couldn't shine as far for you to see the bottom. In the light of the flashlights you could make out eel-like creatures up ahead that you couldn't quite see very well. Only when they got closer did your eyes widen in horror.

"Levi, what the fuck are these things?!" Distress evident in your voice as you squeezed his hand.

"[Pelican Eels](http://animalstime.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/gulper-eel-1.jpg), they won't hurt you. Just don't look at them if they frighten you." You tried to focus your gaze onto Levi in order not to look at the hideous creatures that lived in the deep. It didn't take long until the tiny group of creatures was passed and you let out a breath you didn't know you were holding in. You found the air station after a nerve wrecking journey down. Erwin spoke through the radio once again.

 _“The submarine HD-9 started its investigation from this chimney area. Well, by chimney I mean hydrothermal vent. They are common in volcanic areas. First, we must retrace the movements of the HD-9. When Kenny worked underwater, he kept track of where he had been by marking the area with metal plaques. Each one would have a date on it, so he knew where to start on his next dive. Use the multi-sensor to find metallic objects on the crevasse floor.”_ Thinking this was something maybe Levi wanted to do, you handed the device over to him.

The bottom of the crevasses are filled with tiny underwater volcanoes, Levi maneuvers around them as he looks at the multi-sensor, soon he finds a metal plaque on the crevasse floor. It says:

'Survey Complete - 18/5'

_“Kenny lost contact with his surface support team from this area almost fifteen years ago, on the twenty-third of May. So he must have laid down this plaque five days before the accident.”_ Erwin told you, this is how the two of you would know if you were getting close to the submarine.

The next plaque is found at the end of the crevasse up a higher part that leads to a tunnel, 'Survey Complete - 19/5'

“Four days before the accident.” Levi stated.

“This looks like a long cave, he must have carried on through it." You muttered.

"We keep moving." Was all Levi said. The two of you entered the secret passage, it was filled with tiny fish that lit up once in a while, they were too tiny for you to see what they were exactly but it looked gorgeous as you swam through the tunnel. When you exited the passage there was another steel plaque a little to your left, your’e getting closer as it says: 'Survey Complete - 20/5'

“Just dated thee days before the accident. But it seems that we’ve now reached the Northern Crevasse depths through that passage somehow." The raven-haired diver said and you swallowed thickly, afraid of what you would meet at the end of this trail.

'Survey Complete - 21/5'

“This is a good spot Erwin, could you sink another air station here in the Northern Crevasse? You should be able to see where we are on the radar." Levi spoke into the radio and the two of you kept waiting until you spotted a package sinking down to the bottom of the northern crevasse not far away from you. Levi and you replenished your air and you had a full tank of oxygen once again.

Then you and Levi were back on the trail of the steel plaque, the dark still unnerved you and you had the feeling that something would jump you at any moment. Two odd pink-ish creatures weirdly scurried around the floor, you couldn't believe your eyes.

"What in the hell-"

"They're called [Sea Pigs](http://images2.fanpop.com/image/photos/13700000/creature-of-the-deep-deep-sea-life-13702025-500-373.jpg). Let's keep moving." Levi was definitely in a hurry. You passed the two little creatures and huffed in amazement, but knowing in what kind of mood Levi was you realized he didn't want you to keep sticking around. So, you made sure to catch up to him as you had let go of his hand a long time ago at the air station.

'Survey Complete - 22/5'

“One day…” The tension at the moment kept growing, your limbs trembled as the two of you neared the end of the southern crevasse.

“It seems that Kenny must have continued even further into this cave.” The man in your company said.

But as Levi’s torch shone on something you couldn't quite make out, it seemed that in a cave around the corner a monstrous [Giant Squid ](https://timenewsfeed.files.wordpress.com/2013/01/squid.jpg?w=720&h=480&crop=1)appeared to have made this cave its home. The creature was around eleven meters long from what you could guess although you didn't want to risk taking a closer look. It would be far too dangerous to try to enter while it was there. The situation was explained to Erwin who replied instantly.

_“I see. So a giant squid blocks your path. I doubt that the pulsar will be of any use against a creature of that size. What can we do? Perhaps… no…”_

“What is it Erwin? Any idea could be of use right now.” The impatient Ackerman said, he was clearly unamused by the situation.

 _“The Sperm Whale is the natural enemy of the giant squid, and they often travel through the Crevasses. If there were some way that we can guide one of them here it might make the squid leave.”_ Erwin suggested.

“Great so now we have to find a fucking whale.” You shook your head and felt Levi tap your shoulder.

“Not as hard as it sounds.” Against the blinding light of the surface, you were able to see a giant figure of a whale to the west. Now you only had to lure it your way somehow.

“How are we going to get it here?” Was what you asked Levi when the two of you looked at each other.

“The sea whistle I carry has helped us out in multiple occasions, maybe it’ll work now too. And it is designed to replicate sounds of dolphins or whales so I think we have a fair chance at success.” He explained

“Okay. Just be careful.” You nodded at him.

“I’ll handle it, you stick close to the wall.” He gestured as he pointed to the rocky sides of the crevasse.

As Levi swam a little bit upwards he carefully removed his oxygen mask and blew the whistle, hastily putting his mouthpiece back in after he had done so. In the dark it wasn’t easy to see what the effect had been and from your position against the stone wall of the crevasse you didn’t see a lot either. But you did hear the ‘fuck’ coming from Levi through the radio and the piercing loud sound what the [Sperm Whale](https://thumbs-prod.si-cdn.com/dcF2-lpr4JZoCcHzyNs8-gqfWbI=/800x600/filters:no_upscale\(\)/https://public-media.smithsonianmag.com/filer/Sperm-Whales-631.jpg)made followed. Levi hastily swam over to the wall and he would be squashed between the wall and the whale if he hadn’t acted earlier. The whale didn’t appear to see him though, it just changed its direction. As you adjusted the flashlight on your equipment to shine on the cave you could see the squid franticly trying to leave and it swam towards the surface. Now that you had shone your light on the whale you could see the scars it beared from earlier encounters with giant squids. You honestly thought those kinds of fights could only be seen in bad B movies but the whale seemed to chase the creature to the surface. Oh, how wrong you had been. As you were lost in thought you had forgotten about Levi for a second and when you turned your flashlight into his direction he was suddenly right in front of you and you let out a shriek.

 _“What’s wrong?_ ” Erwin’s voice sounded over the radio.

“Holy shit Levi, never do that a-fucking-gain. It’s fine Erwin, the asshole scared me.” A deep voice, which you presumed to be Levi’s, huffed and you glared at him. 

“Let’s continue.” He said and swam down to the bottom of the crevasse again. Now the mystery of what was in the cave was all that remained.

* * *

 


	21. Chapter 21

The squid’s cave lead to a bigger open space where a lone [Giant Spider Crab](http://www.theonlinezoo.com/img/09/toz09996l.jpg)crawled around the entrance. The uncovered area seemed empty as you and Levi shone around with your torches, but that thought changed when the two of you swam forward to the end of the space. Covered in sand and algae was a mini submarine, the letters **HD-9** clearly visible on the rear. You noticed Levi had stopped advancing and stared at the submarine, you knew this was a lot to take in for him but the two of you needed to keep moving if you wanted to have oxygen left. 

“The Dragon Flute piece that Kenny left may still be in there. Looks like the cockpit is flooded. Let’s have a look.“ He said as if nothing was going on. But you knew better, Levi probably didn’t want to let his emotionless facade fall at a moment like this. With a frown on your face you watched as he tugged the door to the cockpit open, this moment must have been paining him so much and yet he mentally seemed unwavering.

You investigated the empty, flooded cockpit. It was filled with algae and tiny creatures of the deep had made the place their home. You found a securely sealed waterproof bag. It had been hard to find though, as it was covered in a thick layer of slimy algae and was made almost invisible due to it being concealed by a layer of grey sand. But the bright blue color of the fabric was seen as you wiped it off with your gloved hand.

“A waterproof bag? So they did miss something. Kenny must have left it there as he…” Levi started but didn’t manage to finish his sentence, you glanced over at him but he just stared the blue package.

 _“Please, bring it back up to the boat. You can look at it there."_ Sounded Erwin through the radio.

* * *

“Well done! I am relieved to see you back safely. Let’s take a look at that waterproof bag and see if all this effort was worth it.” Erwin congratulated you and Levi with a grin although you noticed that he was in fact, very nervous to see what you would find inside the bag. 

Not long after Levi and you had climbed aboard the average sized boat Erwin had rented, Hanji and Mike returned as well. They hadn't found a lot of interesting things but Hanji couldn't shut up about how amazing the marine life was in the coral reefs. When you asked if Mike had managed to salvage anything he shook his head however, he did say that Hanji and him had found a rather peculiar fissure in the rocky ground of the reef and he told you it spread across the entire area without getting interrupted a single time. But you didn't dwell on the topic of the fissure since everyone in the boat was way more interested in the waterproof bag and its contents. Levi opened it as everyone held their breaths in anticipation.

Inside the waterproof bag Levi found experimental instruments, a number of reports and also a disc made of lapis lazuli. He immediately put the bag down after finding the blue object.

“A lapis lazuli disc! This must be it!” Hanji squealed.

“Yes… this is the third piece of the Dragon Flute. As I suspected, it was still in the HD-9.” Erwin said. Mike decided to check out the other contents of the bag since he knew that double checking something was never a bad idea. His intuition told him that there was more, and being the experienced salvager he is, he appeared to be right.

“Hey, what’s this?” Mike suddenly said. “Erwin, there’s something else in here.” Mike held something that looked like an old envelope out to Erwin.

“What is that? A letter? Let me see it.” The stress was evident in the tall blonde’s voice. “This is addressed to me…from my best friend... Kenny…”

He read the letter out loud.

_“Erwin,_

_I am writing this inside the HD-9. The engines have failed, so she’s completely immobilized. I’m going to try and get out of here, although I have no diving equipment on board. It’s only two hundred meters! Isn’t that the free diving world record? Still, there’s a chance I’ll make it out alive. I won’t give up, even when the situation seems impossible. I learned that from you, Erwin. But it you’re reading this letter, it means that I didn’t make it. And I’ve prepared for that possibility. I’ve left behind three pieces of lapis lazuli for you. Two of the pieces carry a message. I hope it will take you the last step to the truth I couldn’t find. And Erwin, I need to apologize for how selfish I’ve been and how I’ve hurt you. I’m more sorry than words can say. Please understand that I wanted you, the great adventurer and best friend in the world who helped me through every situation and thought me almost everything I know about diving, to be proud of me. Last but most certainly not least, please let my precious nephew Levi know that I love him more than anything. If I do not survive, I will become one with this endless blue ocean and watch over you and him forever._

_Your best friend,_

_Kenny.”_

“I… I cannot believe this.” Erwin whispered as the tears fell from his eyes. “Kenny… he didn’t hate me? That little fool… he wanted me to be proud of him?”

“Erwin...” Levi muttered, he too was at a loss for words. Erwin hastily wiped his tears away, he sniffed and stood up from his position where he sat in the boat looking straight into Levi's eyes.

“Levi, he may no longer be with us, but his will lives on. It is here in this dragon flute, and in the ocean that he loved so dearly. I have made up my mind. I will find the Pacifica Treasure. Please, help me find it!” The remains of the tears he had shed earlier made his eyes sparkle with determination, you glanced between the two men and awaited Levi's reaction.

“I thought that we were doing this together?" Levi raised an eyebrow and crossed his arms.

“Of course!” You quickly said before the short male could tease Erwin further in this, clearly, emotional moment.

“We’ve all been trying to help you all this time, you know. “ Hanji timidly said and Mike grinned alongside the professor.

“I am truly blessed to have met each and every one of you.” Erwin smiled. “Thank you.” Everyone shared a look of determination and happiness, knowing that every single one of you wanted to find the Pasifica Treasure whatever it would take now. Mike awkwardly scratched the stubble on his chin, he was never good with these kinds of situations. Hanji congratulated Erwin on finding his fire to pursue his best friend his dream and you and Levi shared a subtle yet meaningful smile. A feeling of warmth spread through your being like you were catching sun from all sides, like Erwin had said, you were all truly blessed to have met these people. 

S&A Diving Service’s investigation in the Zahhab Region Depths came to an end, and brought its members closer together. Now that you had all three pieces of the Dragon Flute, you returned to Maria Island to examine them. You finally had all three pieces of the Dragon Flute, the key to the Pacifica Treasure. Thinking about it, Kenny also had all three pieces. But if he had them all, why couldn’t he find the treasure? Will you ever reach the end of the Road to the Truth?

* * *

“So, now we have all three pieces. Let’s combine them to make the flute.” 

“But, uh, how does it work? How do we know when we’ve made a flute?” You pursed your lips awkwardly.

“Yeah, the third one looks more like a recorder than anything. I thought it would be another cylinder, but what do you know, it’s a disc.” Mike shrugged as all of you were simply looking down at the table standing in the pleasant morning sun, the three pieces of lapis lazuli spread out on a white cloth to protect them.

“Since the cylinder pieces seem to form a point, going from wide to slender, maybe it works like a funnel.” Hanji said as she rubbed her chin in thought.

Levi tried fitting the pieces together and once the cylinder shaped parts of the flute fit into the disc you heard a promising click. It did look like a funnel, rather odd if you’d say so yourself. As you looked around to see everyone's reaction you were certain that not everyone was convinced if this was the right way the flute should be put together.

“For a Dragon Flute, it ain’t much of a flute. It looks more like a baby’s rattle.”

“Jesus Mike.” You commented and rolled your eyes.

“No, I think this is the correct construction. Look closely. It’s roughly the same shape as the sea whistle that Levi carries.” The professor remarked and everyone took a moment to examine the flute again.

“It is!” After further inspection of the flute you noticed it too. “This must be an ancient sea whistle then.”

“The legend states that the Dragon Flute gives the location of the Pacifica Treasure and also opens the door to it, like a sort of key. Perhaps there is more to discover from the Dragon Flute. Do you mind if I examine it for a while?” Professor Zoë asked, her question mainly directed to Levi and Erwin.

“You’re the expert.” Levi said as he handed the flute over to Hanji. She left for the cottage to examine it further and you all decided not to disturb her.

After an hour or so Hanji walked out of the cabin with a satisfied grin on her face although that didn't say much as everyone knew that the professor smiled at almost all times. It could be that she had made a discovery, but on the other hand it was also perfectly possible that she just put up a smile to stay positive.

“Thanks for waiting, everyone.” She sighed and placed the flute down on the table, everyone taking a seat in the wooden chairs surrounding the table on the island.

“So do you know where the Pacifica Treasure is now?” Being a little too excited you didn’t let her finish what she was about to say.

“No, not yet. I ran into a dead end on the line of research. Using the Okeanos tablets we’ve collected so far, I did an in depth study of the Dragon Flute. It does seem to be a map of some sort. The grooves and holes in it seem to suggest topographical information. Unfortunately, I’m not sure how we’re supposed to interpret it.” A moment of silence followed.

“Interpret it? What’s that supposed to mean? It’s just a map, right?” Mike frowned.

“Do you know about the Mercator projection and the Azimuthal equidistant projection? That kind of interpretation.” Mike sniffed and frowned, he did not know what she was speaking of. Erwin did however, and decided to make it easy to understand for everyone.

“What you mean is, you don’t know how to project it so that it shows the real map since there are two different ancient ways of viewing the world map.”

“So what you’re saying is, we have a CD but not a CD player? What a pain.” The salvager sighed and slumped back in his chair and folded his hands together over his stomach. But oddly enough something from back in Reiss Castle flashed across your mind. It was from the tablet you had found in there.

“Wait, guys I think I might have it. The, uh, the tablet from Reiss Castle, didn’t it say: The fissure filled by the circular ocean shows the way to the Queen’s tomb? Why did Kenny leave a message pointing to Reiss Castle? It can’t be because of the Okeanos tablet, no one could read it at the time. One piece of the puzzle is missing, and it has to be in Reiss Castle. But what is it?” You let your mind wander as you spoke. Then Levi’s eyes widened for a fraction as he had succeeded in putting the pieces of this puzzle together.

“The Map of the Circular Earth!” He snapped his fingers as he said it.

“What? A Map of the Circular Earth?!” Hanji exclaimed.

“Oh yeah, that thing we saw in Reiss Castle! Ilse’s.. Mira’s…no… uhh…” The thing you had forgotten was the name of the person who had made it.

“Ymir. You are talking about Ymir’s map.” Levi helped you out.

“Right, that.” 

“Wait, are you saying that that map was the reason Kenny wanted us to go to Reiss Castle?” Erwin frowned with his bushy eyebrows.

“Actually, now that I think about it… There are stories that say Princess Reiss amassed her wealth by finding another treasure of the Okeanides. That’s why I was looking for Reiss Castle in the first place.” Mike said. “I figured Princess Reiss must have had some clues to the location of the Pacifica Treasure.”

“Oh, of course!” The professor suddenly said. “It all makes sense now! The fissure filled by the circular ocean shows the way to the Queen’s tomb. The circular ocean refers to the round Circular Earth! That’s how to interpret the map!” She grinned, excitement sparkling in her brown eyes behind her glasses. She searched for the map on her laptop and looked at the [picture](http://www.unilim.fr/atlas-historique-limousin/wp-content/uploads/sites/19/2015/05/BNF-Ge.CC_.1423.jpg).

“So if we take this pattern to be Europe and this one to be Africa,” Hanji started as she held the flute close to the picture of the map and compared the two, “we then have these strange grooves. The holes are for playing a scale, but there’s one indentation that doesn’t seem to fit in.” The brunette clicked her tongue in annoyance.

“That must be the fissure!” Erwin said.

“And if you cross-reference it with the Map of the Circular Earth it projects directly onto the north-west Zahhab Region!” A grin spread across your face as you said so.

“Didn’t we see a huge fissure there before? In the coral reefs? There are rumors about a huge cave underneath there!” Mike said, it seemed that he had already done some research of his own on the Zahhab Region when you hadn't been paying attention.

“We should check it out! It seems that we have almost connected all the dots so far, this could be it!” You glanced over to Levi with a hopeful smile on your face and he nodded at you.

“Yes, we should go.” Erwin agreed.

“Haha! You’re mine now Pacifica Treasure!” Mike said.

* * *

It had been a long time ago since the moon had started to illuminate the night sky along with its sparkling companions, forming constellations you could only dream of seeing. You had been very unsuccessful with getting any shut-eye for the night, you decided to appreciate the moon and the stars instead by leaning out of your window and letting the cool evening breeze enter your room and make the white curtains sway in the process.

A small smile spread across your lips. It had almost been a full year since you had joined S&A Diving Service, you already knew it had been the best decision in your entire life.  You had met wonderful people that you could trust. Your start had been a little rough here, especially with Levi. Now that you thought of the wonderful man you laughed at how rude you thought he had been at first. Sure, he was rather angry with you a few times, especially back at The Hole of Trost, but now you knew what he was really like. Then a grim realization hit you, you hadn't asked Levi if he was doing okay at all since finding his uncle's submarine. Cursing yourself for getting lost in the excitement of getting closer to finding the Pacifica Treasure you grabbed a hoodie and zipped it up to keep yourself warm. Knowing Levi he wasn't asleep, and probably especially not now. 

Silently you opened your bedroom door without making it creak in the process and closed it softly behind you, trying not to wake everyone else in the cottage. Hugging yourself with your arms to keep yourself a little warm was what you did as you slowly made your way over to Levi's room. The sound of your bare feet padding across the hardwood floor and your own breathing was the only thing you heard at the moment. When you halted in front of his room you gave a few soft knocks to the door, hoping to receive an answer. After a few seconds that seemed to last for an eternity, the door creaked open and Levi appeared in front of you.

"Hey." You whispered, not really knowing how to greet him at a time like this.

"Hey, what are you doing here at this hour?" He groggily asked.

"I just- uh, can I come in?" Hopefully asking the question you awaited his answer, you wanted to have a good talk about the situation since finding his uncle's submarine was definitely not nothing to him.

"Tch, fine whatever." The raven-haired man gave in after a short silence and pulled the door open so that you could step in.

His room wasn't much different from yours although he had picked darker colors for the furniture in his room. It was quite weird since you realized that this was the first time you actually entered his room, before this you had only come up here to asks a question at the door or to tell Levi something.  Even when it looked dark with only the cold moonlight giving you a source of light it felt like a cozy room, a good place to be.

"So, what's wrong?" You heard him say from his position at the door while you were standing in front of his window to look out over the now seemingly black ocean.

"Well- "

"Is it about the Antarctic again?" He questioned with concern detectable in his voice.

"What? Oh, no- not at all!" In your own defense you had put your hands up and waved them in front of you to dismiss what he had just said. With a sigh he walked your way and halted next to you in front of the window.

"That's good." 

"I was just wondering how you were doing after, you- you know what I mean." A soft frustrated sigh left your mouth, angry with yourself that you were such a mess at forming proper sentences this night.

"I don't know how I’m doing." Levi answered truthfully as he turned himself completely towards the window now, not daring to meet your (Eye Color) eyes. "But it's definitely something."

"The conclusion: you'll live?" You asked as you turned yourself to the window too now.

"Something like that, yeah." Levi whispered, his pale eyes losing themselves in the captivating sight of the ocean he was looking at.

"Promise to tell me if something's up?" Hesitantly you placed a hand over his that rested on the windowsill and turned your head to look at him.

He swallowed thickly, still not able to tear his gaze away from the sight in front of him. But after a short and comfortable silence he turned his head your way, looking at you with mixed emotions swimming in his steel-grey eyes. It was the first time you had seen Levi somewhat close to sad, your heart ached at the sight and you squeezed his hand.

"I will." He rasped out, hastily turning away from you after saying so. You decided it was time to leave him be for the night so, you let go of his cold hand and headed towards the door on your own. It was only when you looked back before closing the door behind you, that you had noticed that he had followed you to see you out. A shaky hand was lifted from his side, but he let it fall back down as if he were struggling with what to do.

Before you could open your mouth to say something he had pushed the door open and stepped closer to you. You could feel the warmth radiating off of his body due to the proximity. With expecting eyes you looked at him, granting him the time he needed to scramble the words together that he most likely wanted to say. Slowly, one of his pale hands was lifted up and he gently stroked your cheek with the back of his hand. He leaned down, you stood perfectly still as you were still processing what was happening. 

With an unexpected tenderness he closed the gap between the two of you, his lips were soft and warm. You could feel your heart thumping in your ears and your eyelids fluttered closed at the sensation of his lips on yours, his comforting scent invading your system. Even when the shared moment of intimacy didn't last very long, it was dearly treasured. Levi pulled back and ran his thumb over your cheekbone, inspecting you with a gentle look of fondness present in his eyes.

"Thank you." He whispered and softly closed the wooden door in front of you. A small smile appeared on your face.

* * *

 


	22. Chapter 22

The next morning came sooner than you had expected. It turned out to be only five in the morning when you rolled over to take a look at your alarm clock. When the memories of last night's events bubbled up in your hazy mind it was impossible for you to try and fall back asleep. With a sigh you came out of bed and mumbled some complaints under your breath when you placed your feet down on the cold wooden floor. Without really looking at what you were grabbing from your closet, you slipped a hoodie on and left it unzipped as you were too lazy to do anything else. Still half asleep you exited your room to find the kitchen and make some coffee.

It took you a little longer than usual to find your favorite mug and when you had placed it under the coffee machine to wait for the hot liquid to fill it, you leaned against the counter with crossed arms and closed your eyes for a moment. A voice startled you when the sound of the coffee machine had stopped.

"I thought you hated getting up early." Turning towards the person who had spoken you saw that it was Levi. Who else had you expected to be up at this hour anyways? A warm smile spread across your face at the sight of him. He looked goofy with his dark hair sticking into every direction.

"Some recent events made me unable to sleep very well." Your former smile turned into a taunting little smirk and the man in front of you huffed and searched a cabinet for a glass to pour some hot water in for a nice cup of tea.

"I'd watch your tongue." He warned.

"And why is that?" Was what you asked him, cocking your head to the side. He put a glass down on the kitchen counter and faced you, he stood closer than he had been before.

"Cause you'll soon have an actual reason why you're not able to sleep very well." Levi smirked and put both of his hands on the counter next to you, trapping you in between his arms. Only now did you realize how weak you were for this man in front of you.

"Excuse me, my coffee is getting cold." You smiled at him as you pushed past him to get your mug.

"Tch, how do you even drink that shit?" He scoffed and continued making his tea.

"I need it to keep me alive." You joked, taking a sip and feeling the hot beverage travel down your throat.

"Hm, if that's the reason than you're allowed to drink it." You heard him mumble when you felt his arms wrapping around your waist from behind, he buried his nose in the crook of your neck and didn't say anything else.

"Gosh, you're adorable." A smile stretched across your features and you put your mug down on the counter to turn around. The smile on your face only grew when you stared deep into his steel-gray eyes before you sealed his lips with yours, wrapping your arms around his neck. The loving kiss was bound to get more passionate as Levi trailed his hands down your waist, but things weren't allowed to escalate when someone cleared their throat. 

Immediately you froze and broke away, not even looking to the direction where to sound came from. You flushed red, embarrassed that someone had to find out about the new relationship you and Levi had started and that it was the first thing the unfortunate soul had to witness in the morning.

"Sooo.... I don't mean to interrupt- "

"Oh my god- Mike shut up." You groaned as you buried your head in Levi's shirt, hating the incredibly awkward turn this conversation had taken already.

"Just one question?" His hopeful voice sounded. With a sigh you broke away from your lover's embrace and went to grab your mug of coffee. The silence was enough to spur Mike on in his questioning, although he seemed beyond awkward in the current situation. The tall man's body language was uncomfortable as he was trying to make himself look 'casual' but he miserably failed.

"From the other amazing, more talented, _taller_ option on this island, why him tho- "

"Get the fuck out freaky nose fucker." Levi growled at him, it was Mike's fault that he had mentioned his height.

"Okay, okay! I was kidding wow." The tall man held his hands up in defeat and decided to head back to his room. 

"Well," A sigh escaped your lips at the scene that had unfolded just now "I sure did enjoy our three seconds of privacy." 

"Oh fuck, I'm already imagining what Erwin is going to say about this. He's going to share his fucking opinion with us like he's giving a speech to run for president." At Levi's creative words a chuckle escaped your lips. You gave him a quick peck on the cheek before you left for your room too, exposing your relationship to the rest could wait a short while.

* * *

You returned to the kitchen a couple of hours later, you had showered and changed into some comfortable clothes. Afterwards you had called your friends Eren and Mikasa, although you told them almost everything that had happened so far, you left the part of you and Levi out. To you it was a little early on in the relationship to go out and tell everyone you were dating, even though you hardly had a choice now that Mike had caught the two of you making out this morning. 

Everything looked like it usually did, Erwin was enjoying a coffee at the dining table while Hanji read something on her computer as she ate her breakfast. Levi stood in the kitchen, preparing another cup of tea for himself. Mike hadn't been spotted yet, you felt bad for the poor man, he must be feeling awfully awkward right now. But that was just how the tall salvager was, awfully awkward. After you greeted everyone in the room you went to make yourself some breakfast, you and Levi sharing a knowing look in the kitchen. Both of you were aware that it would be best to just get it over with instead of keeping it a secret which it actually wasn't anymore.

After preparing some breakfast for yourself you took a seat at the dining table and Levi sat down next to you. Time passed in silence but when you heard the heavy footsteps of Mike you groaned internally. He entered the room and looked around, his eyes landing on you and Levi.

"Oh, hello there! (First), Levi." Upon hearing the tone he used to say your names with you knew enough. Even Hanji and Erwin looked up with a frown on their faces, why did Mike have to make everything weird? 

"Good morning?" Erwin said to Mike, questioningly looking at the two of you afterwards. A frustrated sigh left your mouth and Levi harshly put his cup of tea down.

"(First) and I are dating." Levi said like it was the common thing in the world, of course he had always been blunt but you did certainly not expect this one.

Erwin almost choked on his coffee, hastily wiping his mouth with a handkerchief before raising his voice. "You two are what?!"

"Called it." Hanji chuckled and took a sip of her drink afterwards.

"Levi Ackerman for how long has this been going on?!" The male said, shock present in his blue eyes.

"Calm down eyebrows, you're not my father. It's recent, we started dating since last night." Levi stated.

"Last night?! What happened last night, do I want to know?!" You buried your face in your hands at Erwin's outburst.

"Levi you're not making this any better." You muttered to him, not able to face Erwin now that he was freaking out like he did. 

"Holy shit calm yourselves okay?" Levi sighed and everyone went quiet. "We're adults, we can handle this shit ourselves  and we don't give a shit about your opinion Erwin. And if you're still interested, nothing has happened." Erwin seemed to have calmed down and the raven-haired man casually sipped his tea. "Yet." 

* * *

The next day, S&A Diving Service was on its way to Egypt. Erwin had calmed down on the topic of you and Levi dating while Hanji was being way too excited over the matter. Mike was still awkward, but honestly when was he not? 

"You think you're able to get some sleep this time?" Sitting down on the seat next to the window you asked the question to Levi, who down on the aisle side of the chairs in the plane. He only grunted in response, a sign that he wasn't looking forward to the long plane ride. It was better for you not to ask any more questions about it since he was already in a bad mood. Both of you got comfortable in your seat well, as comfortable as you could get before the plane would take off, and then all you had to do was entertain yourself until you'd arrive in Egypt. 

A couple of hours after taking off, the lights in the plane went off to signal everyone it was a good time to go to sleep right now and to give those who wanted to sleep an opportunity to do so. Not long afterwards your eyes started to droop, even though you weren't in the most comfortable position ever your body was tired enough to fall sleep in your current state. Blinking slowly you looked at Levi, the poor man was wide awake. It didn't even look like he was somewhat ready to close his eyes. Drowsily you reached for his hand while resting your cheek against the side of your headrest, looking at him. His grey eyes found your (Eye Color) ones and his gaze softened upon seeing you. 

"You should try to sleep." Was what you whispered, considerate of the sleeping people close to you.

"You know I can't." Levi frown deepened upon saying so, you rubbed your eyes with your free hand.

"Then we'll both just stay awake, it'd be boring not to have some company." A gentle smile graced your features, he sighed at your words.

"You need your rest- "

"And so do you, idiot." Levi knew that you weren't going to give up and that there was no winning this discussion. 

"Fine." He grunted and you smiled at him lovingly.

You shifted to sit up a bit straighter than before, you grabbed the blanket that you had gotten at the beginning of the flight and spread it out over both you and Levi's forms. Then, you patted your shoulder.

"Come on, you can rest on my shoulder." He looked at you like you were making a fool out of him but then realized you were just trying to make him comfortable. Levi carefully put his head down on your shoulder and shifted a few times before remaining still. Lastly, he moved to take a hold of your hand and you gave it a soft squeeze and rested your head on his. A comfortable silence followed, the only thing you heard was the rumbling sound that the plane made.

"Do you think we'll finally find it?" The raven-haired man next to you murmured. 

"All we can do is hope." He huffed at your response.

"Isn't that what we always do?" You sighed.

"I suppose." Was all you could say before a silence descended on the two of you once more. Levi's breathing slowed down and you soon realized he had dozed off, you followed quick after him.

* * *

The next day Levi seemed calmer than usual. He was relaxed and it looked like the little sleep he had gotten on the plane did him some good. The professor was energetic as usual, telling you all kinds of information about the Zahhab Region you already knew but you listened anyways. It didn't take long before everyone was suited up and sat in the boat that Erwin had rented, it took a short ten minutes before you had finally reached your destination and Erwin had halted the boat.

“The information we obtained from the Dragon Flute indicates that we should search near the Long Fissure in the North-West Zahhab Region. It must be the location of the Queen’s tomb, containing the Pacifica treasure.” The blonde decided to go over the information again to make sure that everyone still remembered what had taken place back at Maria Island.

“But to this day, no one has ever discovered it. That implies that it is hidden from sight by some kind of physical obstruction." Hanji said, her pointer finger raised to gesture that she was talking about something important. It made you frown, it was a good thing she mentioned that and it made a lot of sense. This wasn't some easy puzzle at all, you had known that from the start although, the riddle seemed to get harder as you got closer to finding out the truth behind the Song of Dragons.

"Indeed, and that is why I have brought some underwater explosives.” Erwin said, like it was a very normal thing to bring underwater explosives with you on a trip.

“All right! That’s how you get things done!” Mike grinned and crossed his muscular arms.

“Hey- wait a minute! We can’t just go and blow stuff up wherever we please! And imagine the effects on the marine life!” You held your hands out in front of you, literally gesturing the people who were with you in the boat to hold up. With wide eyes you scanned everyone's faces and they all seemed relaxed over the matter, it weirded you out honestly. 

“They were expensive, but just this once. If we find that the way to the Queen’s tomb is blocked, we can use the explosives to remove whatever obstructs us. So we’re not just going to blow things up, (First).” Erwin reassured you although it didn't make you feel much better about it.

“Okay...” You reluctantly obliged.

“Go down and start your search. I will support you from the boat.” Erwin said and everyone got up to grab their gear. 

While you were strapping your diving kit on you zoned out, worried of what would happen if you all were to actually use the underwater explosives. It just didn't sit right, but you couldn't really object much. Not everything in life could go the way you wanted it to. When you finished with securing the last strap to fasten your oxygen tank to your back, a sudden hand landed on your shoulder. Turning your head to the owner you saw that it was Hanji who gently smiled at you.

"Oh, hi Hanji. Sorry, I was spacing out a little, something wrong?" A quick smile spread across your features to reassure her that you were fine.

"You know, it will depend on the location and texture of the area and stone if we'll actually use the explosives. It's not like they'll let us blow something up in a coral reef over here anyways and I'm not planning to do so, too. Erwin asked me to set the explosives if we're going to use them and I'll make sure we won't do any damage to the marine life and environment, okay?" The professor said. In awe by her kind words that calmed you down so much you gave her a quick but cautious hug because of all the equipment and thanked her.

Once in the water near the Long Fissure, Erwin spoke over the radio:  _“Let me know what you find, I can always help from up here.”_

Levi, Mike and you had decided to jump in. Since Hanji was the one who would set the explosives if they were to be used, it'd be a lot of effort for her to keep carrying them around if you all weren't sure if you were going to use them. That's why she stayed in the boat to wait for a sign and if Erwin would agree on using the expensive explosives, only then would she dive in and head towards the assigned spot to set the explosives. 

Mike had joined you since he was one of the two people part of S&A Diving Service who had seen the Long Fissure before and the salvager could lead you to certain places that you'd like to investigate. Furthermore the man had a keen eye for peculiar looking spots in the water so his excellent intuition and eyes were of great use to all of you. 

The deep blue of the Zahhab Region was all around you and on the rocky floor that was mostly covered with nothing or a few algae, there was a huge fissure. It looked like someone had decided to messily cut a line in the surface of the stone, reaching from the end of the rocky area all the way to where the water would become shallow and you were able to stand. It was time to investigate.

* * *


	23. Chapter 23

Above the surface of the bright blue water of the Zahhab Region, Hanji Zoë was preparing the underwater explosives in case the three of you down there needed to use them. Drops of sweat formed on her brow, back there she reassured you that everything would be okay. However, the professor had never set explosives herself before. On her own expeditions and investigations she had a whole crew who would help her with analyzing data and a lot of experienced divers arranged things like that for her. Hanji had a lot of knowledge, she could even be called the most successful professor of her time, but even with her genius mind she was nervous about this. 

There was little to nothing that could go wrong, and maybe the thought that you all could possibly find the Pacifica Treasure soon played a role on her feelings. Still, she worried. A sigh left her mouth after finishing the preparations, Hanji wiped the sweat off of her brow and rested her hands on her hips and looked out over the sea.

"Is something bothering you?" A voice from her side said. She turned towards the blonde who had just finished conversing with the three of you down in the water over the radio.

Hanji shrugged. "I don't know, could be. But I think we're all a little tense after we've gotten so close to the truth now."

"That's true. After Kenny's letter my life completely turned around, and now that we are likely to find out the truth behind the Song of Dragons..." Erwin sighed.

"I never asked but, when did you all start searching for the Pacifica Treasure?" The brunette questioned.

"Levi wanted to pursue the mystery when he was younger and when Kenny had just passed away, but I talked him out of it and we never spoke much of it again. Then years later, I got this email from (First) (Last) saying she wanted to join the organization to search for the truth behind the Song of Dragons. I accepted, we needed the people and I figured she'd give up sooner or later since Levi had too. But that girl doesn't know when to quit, and she hadn't even spent a day on the island and she returned Levi's passion to find the Pacifica Treasure to him. Looking back I suppose it was only a matter of time before those two would've ended up together." Erwin smiled as he told Hanji the story and she clasped her hands together, a grin forming on her face.

"They're adorable!!" The brunette squealed. "But more importantly,  a very good diving team together. And now that Mike's accompanying them I'm sure they'll find something down there." 

"Yeah, you're right." 

* * *

 _“Do not be tricked into thinking it is some ordinary crack in the rock. Try if you can see down to what lies beneath, look for the widest part of the fissure.”_ Hanji's voice was heard over the radio.

Upon finding a wider area in the fissure you dared to look down and see what was below. It was almost to dark to see anything, but there appeared to be a huge cave under the rock. There might actually be something underneath the fissure, but no one could get through such a narrow opening. Even if you’d try to blast your way in, this was solid bedrock.

“The treasure of Pacifica sleeps with the Queen behind the bronze door in the abyss. Do you remember that verse from the tablet you found in Reiss Castle? If we believe that, then the Queen’s tomb is hidden behind a bronze door. If it really is directly underneath this fissure, then there may be another entrance in some other place.” Levi spoke.

 _“Keep looking around to see if there is anywhere you can get in. The sonar I’ve got here on the boat indicates that the huge cavern extends to the east of where you are now."_ Erwin said.

And so you made your way east, finding [Orangespine Unicornfish](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0d/Orangespine_Unicornfish_-_Naso_lituratus.jpg)on your way there. When you arrived at the abyss, Hanji mentioned it was called the Super Drop-off. The area of sand and stone did come to a very abrupt stop and suddenly, all that was in front of you was a deep blue emptiness. Two [Killer Whales ](http://www.uwphotographyguide.com/sites/default/files/2016-06-01-Galapagos-1560-2_0.jpg)swam around near the surface when you looked up, a terrifying but gorgeous sight. They stayed close to the surface and seemed to be traveling, they paid no attention to any of you much to your relief. Not long after you descended along the bedrock of the drop-off a cave like area was carved into the side of the abyss.

“What an interesting geological formation. It looks like a veranda, or a terrace. But the surrounding area is pure stone. There is no bronze door.” Mike muttered and a surprising snort from Levi followed.

"You're starting to sound like shitty glasses." He joked.

"Ha-ha, very funny." The salvager replied. After all this time you still had no idea if the two of them were able to get along. Were they joking or being serious? You didn't have a clue.

You looked around and frowned, sighing into the microphone.

“What is it? Did you find something?” Mike asked when he swam closer to you, he looked around to spot anything that you might have been looking at but couldn't find such a thing. He too, sighed and scratched the top of his head.

“No, but this area seems suspicious.” You said to no one in particular as you inspected the sides of the weird hollowed out space. This wasn't just some cave made by natural erosion, it looked too perfect yet very rough at the same time. 

“You think this is the bronze door? Even though nothing looks as if it might be metallic?” Levi questioned, asking further questions to get some words out of you.

 _“Is there something down there? Can you show me evidence?”_ Erwin asked, his tone always on the edge of distress and excitement. You had never been able to figure out what it was exactly.

“No, I think (First) has a point.” Mike started. “Remember back in the Cortica River? Those frogs looked like they were made out of stone but in the end they were made out of silver and lapis lazuli. Maybe it’s the same story all over again here.” 

 _“Yes! That could be right, Levi do you have the multi-sensor?”_ Hanji's voice suddenly sounded over the radio. Without words the raven-haired diver retrieved the device.

“Let’s find out if this really is a bronze door.” Levi muttered and turned the multi-sensor on after he had grabbed it from a pouch on his equipment.

It took a few seconds for Levi to scan the area since the range of the device wasn't exactly huge. He swam around the large cave, the silence and anticipation were unbearable. You and Mike tensely watched Levi swim around, his flippers moving through the water with ease that only someone who had spent years diving could have, then suddenly his eyes widened.

“Metal… it’s picking up metal.” He said, disbelief evident in his voice.

 _“Wait, you’re picking up metal?”_ Erwin was heard through your earpiece.

“Then that must mean that there is metal somewhere in the sheet of bedrock here in front of us!" Mike said.

“So this is the bronze door!” A smile spread across your face upon finding this out. Levi put the multi-sensor away in a pouch of his equipment and swam closer to the area where the sensor had picked the metal up. He moved his gloved hands across the rocky sides of the cave and inspected it a little further. 

“The bedrock here is not so thick, we should be able to blast through it.” Levi stated. Some rustling was heard from the signal form the boat and then Erwin's voice was heard.

 _“I have asked Hanji to dive down. Wait there for a moment.”_ Erwin requested from you and everyone waited patiently until another diver came in sight. Hanji's white and green wetsuit was easily recognizable since it had the logo of her laboratory printed onto it. She carried the explosives, they looked less terrifying than you had imagined and actually seemed like very professional objects.

“How exciting!” She squealed “I have the underwater explosives!” The professor grinned and waved them around, striking fear into every single one of your hearts. 

“Be careful with those shitty glasses! It's there on the left side by the way.” Levi warned and instructed her but she just giggled and swam past the three of you, asking you to get back and wait for her to attach them to the bedrock.

It didn't take very long although, you would have thought Hanji would take a little more time than a few minutes to set the explosives and attach them to the right wall. Professor Zoë was an expert after all, and it was not like you had ever seen anyone set underwater explosives, so who were you to even have doubts about the situation.

“That will do. I will detonate the explosives by remote control.” She said and swam back to your group, waiting for Erwin to confirm what she had just said.

“But the animals…” You muttered. 

“What? Still worried about harming animals near he blast site? The blast will be carefully controlled, especially in this space, so it is much safer than you think. Plus, there is little marine life to be found in this peculiar cave. However, it will disturb sediment in the area and greatly reduce visibility. We’ll return for the boat and wait for the water to become clear again after we fire off the explosives.” Like the professor had done before, she reassured you that there was nothing to worry about. Her words about detonating the explosives in this area did calm you a bit even though it still didn't give you a great feeling about the matter. And just like that you were done diving for the day, heading back to where Erwin had stalled the boat and awaited everyone's return.

* * *

After everyone had gotten aboard and you had removed the annoying pieces of your diving kit that were greatly in the way, you looked at Hanji and Erwin expectantly. Levi and Mike just finished up putting their diving gear away and sat down on the wooden benches on the sides of the boat, you followed their example. Erwin cleared his throat.

“Brace yourselves, I will detonate the explosives now.” Erwin pushed the switch on the remote detonator. Silence followed, not even a dull rumbling could be heard or any sound next to the waves clashing against the side of the boat. “That should do it.”

“That’s it? What about the big ‘boom’? And the column of water?” The blonde salvager questioned, he also had not worked with underwater explosives before although you had no idea that he hadn't until he gave this kind of reaction. If you were honest with yourself, you had expected a huge blast as well.

“It is too deep in the ocean for that, and it was not so big a charge to begin with. This is what you get.” Erwin gave the other man a small smile and you could see Mike pout at him, it made you laugh and you covered your mouth with your hand.

“We still need to wait a little while for the sediment to settle. It is late now, so let us resume our exploration tomorrow.” Erwin announced and everyone agreed, there was not much to be done now anyways. 

The boat was headed back to the docks, the five of you wouldn't sleep in a hotel but on board of the rented boat. It was a bit like back in the Ciceros Strait. Lucky for you and Hanji this boat did have a separate cabin though and you were able to change comfortably for the night. Just like last time, you laid down in your sleeping bag next to Levi but you were pretty sure that you wouldn't get kicked in your back this time. And neither would the two of you start another fight. If a fight would even happen it would have to be between Mike and Levi and then you still wouldn't know if they were serious or just playing around, you guessed that's what their friendship had to be like. 

"Try to get some sleep, will you?" You said to your lover in a hushed tone as you turned to face him.

"Oh thanks, I wasn't trying before." He sarcastically remarked and you rolled your eyes at him.

"So you're in one of  _those_ moods again." The smile on your face couldn't be hidden and it was noticeable in your voice as well. 

"One of those moods?" Levi repeated.

"You know, those moods where you think you're hilarious but you're actually just being cranky." The man next to you seemed to mull over your words, his eyes still closed as he was 'trying' to sleep.

"Hm, no. Does not sound like me at all." Levi grumbled and made an attempt to turn away from you but you stopped him by grabbing his arm. "What do you want?" His eyes were open now, annoyance evident in his grey orbs but his harsh glare soon softened upon looking at you.

"Good night, Levi. Sleep well." You smiled at him and kissed him on his forehead. Afterwards you completely crawled back into your sleeping bag and turned away from him, closing your eyes to try and get some sleep yourself.

* * *

The next morning you awoke just when the sun was about to rise. It was way too early, it wasn't necessary to be up right now and you had been exhausted. So, why did you wake up? There was this feeling in the pit of your stomach, something that told you you hadn't awakened for no reason. The boat gently swayed on the gentle waves in the harbor and you looked around to see that everyone else was still sound asleep, even a certain man next to you. 

But you felt it. Like something was happening, like something was going to happen. The five of you needed to go, now! Even though you were battling with your feelings from the inside of not wanting to wake everyone up so early, you couldn't help it. No matter how selfish it was, you crawled out of your sleeping bag and headed over to Erwin to softly shake his shoulder. With a small grunt he blinked his eyes open and it took him a moment before he had realized you woke him up.

"(First), what's the matter?" The man groggily replied as he shifted in his sleeping bag.

"I know that what I'm going to say will sound stupid Erwin, but I have the feeling that we should be heading out right now. I feel like something is happening." It took Erwin a few seconds to process what you had said to him, then he sighed and nodded while closing his eyes.

"I understand. I know what you mean, I shall wake everyone up. Go get changed in the cabin." He said to you as he slowly rose to sit up. A small spread across your face, happy that Erwin believed you about your weird gut feeling. 

Silently padding your feet across the wood of the boat you headed towards the main cabin and slipped through the door, trying not to wake everyone up in the process before Erwin would do that. For some odd reason your heart was beating out of your chest, adrenaline was being pumped through your veins for what you thought was no reason at all. Before you even realized it you had changed into your wetsuit and grabbed some of your equipment that lay inside the cabin to take it out on the deck. 

When you opened the door to head back out you could see that Erwin had succeeded in waking everyone up. Grunts and complains were thrown around on board, of course everyone would question why they had to wake up so early. The blonde man only told them that it would be explained later and you already weren't looking forward to doing that. After half an hour everyone was dressed to dive and had had a little bit of food to start the day with.

“All right, we’re up and out first thing in the morning, like you asked. That treasure’s not going anywhere, why couldn’t we sleep in?” Mike groaned as he rubbed his eyes while Erwin steered the boat towards your destined location.

“I don’t know, I had a strange feeling about it.” You confessed and Mike stared at you like you were an idiot.

“You had some kind of strange feeling about it?” Hanji repeated you.

“It is diver’s intuition. I used to feel it too, before.” The blonde captain steering the boat said, the door of the cabin was left open so you could still converse with him.

“I feel it too, like something is going to happen.” Levi sighed.

“Hey!” Mike suddenly sprang up from where he was sitting back just a few seconds ago. “What is that? Look!” 

“Wow!” In the distance you spotted a pack of whales, first they just came up to breathe but some also sprung up into the air to fall back down into the water. But there seemed to be a lot more whales than there normally were in a pack, they were all different species too.

“This is amazing… I’ve never seen so many whales in one place!” Hanji gaped, she immediately searched around for a notepad to record what she was seeing. 

“So, it seems your intuition was right once again.” Erwin smiled and you did the same.

“I know you’re good, but this is amazing!” The professor agreed. “‘If this many whales have gathered here, there really must be something going on.”

“Well, we won’t know what it is until we start looking. You’re ready to dive right in, aren’t you? It’s written all over your face.” Levi crossed his arms and you saw him smirking a little when you turned your head to look at him. 

“You really want to dive with all these whales around?” Erwin asked.

“Well, you’re one brave woman, that’s for sure.” Mike chuckled.

“Your courage has saved us countless times. And this time is no different. We will put our faith in you!” The brunette female grinned. All these supportive words were a little too much for you, you looked down at the ground.

"Well, Levi has done much more than I- "

"Stop complaining brat, I'll head down with you." Levi's voice sounded and you snapped your head to his direction in surprise, somehow you hadn't expected him to be so supportive.

“But you should still be careful, we don’t know what’s down there.” Erwin said as he walked out of the cabin, having halted the boat. 

“We’ll monitor you from the boat for now. So stay in contact with us, okay?” Hanji's kind eyes looked at you and Levi with worry but you knew she supported the choice that the two of you had made.

"Are you two really sure?" Mike asked when both of you were putting your diving gear on. You looked up at him and nodded, turning your head towards Levi after you had done so.

"Absolutely sure, it's a choice we've made and we should make sure we'll have absolutely no regrets." He sighed and strapped the last part of his kit on.

"That's right," you smiled, "no regrets."

* * *

 


	24. Chapter 24

_"Head to the blast site and let me know what you find there."_ Erwin said through the radio. 

Levi and you had just jumped into the water and both of you couldn't believe your eyes. There were so many whales you weren't able to count them, so many dolphins that you thought you were hallucinating. It was quite stressful to navigate through all the different kinds of whales, who would have thought that such a gathering would ever occur after all. Knowing how nervous you were, Levi grasped your hand and together you swam to the blast site. 

False killer whales, Bottlenose dolphins and many more different kinds of dolphins swam around the veranda like cave where Hanji had set the explosives just a day ago. All the sediment had settled and the water was clear enough for you to see through although the dolphins were a bit distracting to you. 

Levi was the one to go first, you followed him in silence as you tried your best to see if anything had changed in the cave. Then Levi said something through the radio, a sentence that would make your day.

"A path has opened up!" He cried.

 _"Really?! Tell me more!!"_ Hanji yelled through your earpiece and you cringed. As you swam closer you saw that indeed, a small tunnel-like path was hidden behind the part of bedrock Hanji had blown up the day before. A grin stretched across your features.

"He's telling the truth! It seems that this passage was hidden behind the layer of bedrock." You answered before Levi could.

 _"Move on and tell us what you see."_ Erwin had taken over the microphone and spoke to the two of you in a calm voice like always. Levi entered the tunnel first, you stuck close behind him. It was dark and it was hard to see where you were going and where the walls were. Luckily, both of you carried underwater torches with you to illuminate your way. It turned out to be very helpful as there was a turn to the right that the two of you would not have been able to see without the torches, you could already imagine yourself hitting your head on the stone wall and breaking your gear in the process.

Then it became lighter in the tunnel, you could see that there was a vast open space when you peeked over Levi's shoulder. As soon as he escaped the tunnel, you did too. And you could have never imagined the sight in front of your eyes.

Pale blue light shone through a crack in the ceiling of the hidden cave you had arrived in, that must have been the Long Fissure you had previously looked through. But the [temple](http://vignette2.wikia.nocookie.net/endlessocean/images/4/45/Cavern_of_the_Gods.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20110627232202)in front of you took your breath away. It was meters high, with statues of Egyptian figures that were more than thrice your size. Schools of tiny blue fish swam around in front of it and even though the brown rock of the temple was covered in algae and dust, it still looked so impressive that you couldn't find the words to describe it.

Levi was also speechless next to you. He just stared and stared at what was in front of him like this wasn't real and he was still fast asleep on the boat, dreaming that he was seeing this. You were certain that this was it, this was the Cavern of the Gods. From all the things you have seen, read and whatsoever, this was the place where the secret of the Song of Dragons was kept. And now you and Levi were going to find out the truth behind it along with the help of everyone else. 

"We found it..... The tomb of the Queen of the Okeanides, the resting place of the Pacifica Treasure." Levi finally spoke.

"So the legend was true after all." You mumbled, still in awe as you couldn't take your eyes off the gorgeous temple.

 _"No way,"_ Hanji's voice sounded over the radio, oddly calm for what you were used to from her. _"we_ _are going down there this instance. Mike, gear up."_ She said, and you could hear a faint response from Mike in the background.

"We'll be waiting!" Was your response. You felt bad for Erwin that he wasn't able to see this sight, it was truly remarkable. But it was still a good thing for him to know that all the effort that Kenny had put into finding this place wasn't for nothing. Now Levi, you and the rest had finally succeeded in finding the place. You were still being overwhelmed by pure euphoria, you couldn't wipe the grin off of your face. 

It handn't taken long before the two figures of Hanji and Mike exited through the tunnel that led to the temple. It seemed like they had been in a hurry, and you couldn't blame them for it for you would have done the same. 

"We've finally arrived!" The professor stated, Mike swam up next to her.

"I decided to come along, I couldn't keep sitting on the boat like a seagull at a time like this." The cocky voice of Mike sounded and you just barely kept yourself from rolling your eyes at the guy.

"Let's find the entrance." Hanji stated and all of you agreed. As everyone scanned the outside of the temple and its impressive details Mike had found the entrance all the way to the left of the temple. It wasn't a small entrance but it had been hard to spot anyways as it looked like the rest of the temple a lot. 

"Shall we enter?" The brunette female questioned as all of you floated around near the entrance, unsure of what to do since entering such an old building could be very dangerous, and maybe there even were traps. Unsure looks were shared until Levi sighed and spoke.

"Erwin..." Of course, he too knew what Erwin was feeling at this very moment. All of you were looking at the thing his best friend risked and lost his life for, and now he couldn't even see it in person but he knew it was out there. It was cruel when you thought about it. 

 _"I will be with you in spirit, and I'll use the sonar to help you in any way I can from the service."_ It was admirable how the lone man on the boat kept his voice steady, all of you had heard the quiver in it as he spoke though. You really wished that there was a way for him to see it, but you knew that such thoughts shouldn't be distracting you right now. _"S &A Diving Service,"_Erwin began. _"move out!"_

Those words of encouragement that Erwin was so amazing at bringing to you had surely helped, a new kind of courage filled your being and you knew that the rest felt it too. A final look was shared between all of you, but one particular member of the service was too awkward to be sentimental.

"Hey, stop dawdling! We've got treasure to find!" Mike chuckled and you nodded and laughed as well.

"Be careful in there though, we don't know what's waiting for us." Levi sternly said and indeed this was no time to be too optimistic, there were countless of dangers that you could find in there but there was only one way to find out the truth behind the Song of Dragons. It was like some force bigger than yourself knew what you were thinking of as the familiar sound that was the Song of Dragons could be heard from inside the ruins.

"Well isn't that a coincidence." Mike said. But something felt off, and it wasn't just the sound of the Song of Dragons that made you uncomfortable, no it was something else. Like you were going to have bad luck once again.

"The current! Why is it suddenly so strong?!" Hanji cried out, all of the sudden more panicked than you had ever seen her before. Then you noticed it too, something was pulling you in, leading you inside the ruins of the Cavern of the Gods. But everyone, even Hanji, had noticed the change of the current too late and were pulled in. 

It were everyone's intentions to enter the ruins, but to be pulled in might mean that there was no way out. 

* * *

 _"Respond, over! Respond, over! Can you hear me? Are you all right?"_ The radio connection only returned when the current had stopped pulling the four of you along. Erwin's distressed voice cracked in your earpiece and Mike looked around to see if anyone was missing or injured before he responded to him.

"Yeah, I think so... Everyone seems to be okay." He said.

"The moment we heard the Song of Dragons the current swept us away, it seems we have been carried inside the ruins." Hanji sighed.

"Never mind that, just look at this place!" You said, knowing it might have sounded a little bit too casual but you kept in mind that you needed to stay positive.

"It's gorgeous! It's almost like the inside of a pyramid!" Hanji commented, her positive attitude back again like it had never disappeared. And she was right, hieroglyphs decorated the walls and the huge openings to different kinds of hallways. "I can't wait to do research!" The professor squealed.

 _"How does it look?"_ Erwin suddenly said over the radio. _"Are you able to get out of the ruins?"_

"I don't think so. This area is calm but the current that swept us in is still strong, so we can't go back just yet." Levi said and sighed afterwards, he appeared to be in deep thought as to why this could have suddenly happened.

"Well that's just great, what do we do now?" Mike remarked. 

"Since the Okeanides appeared to be very clever people spreading the secret of the Song of Dragons all over the world yet making it so hard to find, I was thinking that perhaps there is some sort of mechanism in the ruins that controls these currents." The professor suggested, it sounded far fetched but who knows, it could be true.

"If that's so we'll have to find it before we run out of air." Levi stated seriously, and he was right. You were stuck in here until the four of you would find a way to stop that current. "Do you see anything suspicious? Take a good look around you, all of you, quickly!" He said.

All four of you spread out across the big chamber you were in at the moment. There were four ways you could go, left, right, straight ahead and back. Although when you tried, the current stopped you from going back. Mike said he would investigate the left hallway but he was startled by a sudden current as well, leading him back to the room you were all in. The same happened with the right corridor, Hanji too came floating back to the chamber. So all that was left was straight ahead of you. 

There appeared to be a stairway going upwards when you entered the path in front of you, but when you looked up you almost swam straight into Levi who had stopped. You were about to ask him why until you saw it for yourself, there was a dead end. All that was in front of you was a wall decorated with hieroglyphics, some ancient script on a mural that showed people worshipping the sun.

"Guys check this out, some mural where people seem to be worshipping the sun." You said into your microphone, shortly after that Mike and Hanji joined you and Levi in the hallway in front of the mural.

"Wasn't there something about the sun on the Okeanos Tablet?" The salvager next to you questioned. A crack in your earpiece was the sign that Erwin had decided to speak to you and you remained quiet to listen to him.

 _"Yes, it said: 'Offer the flutes to the sun of morning, noon and night and the dragon's song will open the gates to inheritance.' If I remember correctly."_ The blonde said.

"Hm, perhaps we should play some music, what do you think? Play something fire for us on that Dragon Flute, Levi." Mike teased the short male with a smirk on his handsome face and you could see Levi's eyebrow twitch underneath his diving goggles. 

"Why don't you do it your-fucking self, _Mike_?" The venom dripping off of the tone in Levi's voice was lethal and you had to stop him before he would do stupid things in an important situation like this. After all this was a race against the clock that none of you could afford to lose.

"Guys, stop it will you? Just do it already." The raven-haired diver mumbled something incoherent under his breath that you didn't catch, but you knew it might have been best that you didn't. 

Levi retrieved the Dragon Flute out of a pouch on his equipment. He stared at it for a moment, you could hear him sigh in his microphone. Just when he turned the relic and was about to remove his mouthpiece to play the flute, the current seemed to move through it and it created a high pitched sound. When the sound faded away, the Song of Dragons was heard in return. It gave you goosebumps and an unsettling shiver ran down your spine.

"The Song of Dragons again! It looks like nothing happened though." Mike said, sounding a little disappointed.

"Wait, I've got an idea. Hanji, can you translate those ancient characters carved into the wall?" You asked her. But there was no response. 

Alarmed, everyone turned to the sport where she had been floating around in the water just moments ago, but there was not a single trace of the professor to be found. You gulped, panic invading your system before you could stop it from doing so. Who knows where she could have been swept away to, or how big this place is? What if you couldn't find her before it was too late?

"Hanij! Can you hear me Hanji?" You yelled but no one responded. 

 _"It's no good, I can't reach Hanji from the boat either."_ Erwin sounded through your earpiece.

"Where is she?" The sentence came out in a mere whisper, you were about to break down. A sudden hand on your shoulder startled you and you snapped your head towards the owner, Levi.

"Calm down. We won't be able to find her if you're not thinking straight." He said, voice stern but you could hear that he was concerned for her wellbeing.

"She was right here a minute ago..." You weakly muttered.

"That's right!" Mike said, you looked at him now. "And that means that she couldn't have gotten far, right? Stay with us here, (First). I'll go look for Hanji, you and Levi can go on and scout ahead." The salvager reassured you.

"Mike, are you sure about this? Who knows where you might end up?" You said, eyes wide with fear for what might happen to him if he'd go out there on his own. 

"I'm the best salvager in the world, MZ , don't worry about me." He smirked and you thanked him for what he was about to do. "The currents seem to have altered, this could have been the reason Hanji disappeared. It has opened up some paths, I'll see you guys later." Mike said, suddenly much more serious than he had been a second ago. You said goodbye to him and Levi gave him an understanding nod that the salvager returned, now that Mike was gone from sight as well it was only you and Levi now. 

Without words the raven-haired diver began to swim and you hurried to keep up with him, scared that you would be left behind. It might have looked like a cold action from Levi's side but you knew he did this for all of you. Lives were at stake and he was not planning to lose more people than he had already, you understood that. Levi took a turn to the left corridor and fearlessly advanced. It wasn't dark in the hallway at all, the water was just slightly murky and you were scared that some dangerous creature might jump you out of nowhere.

But you remembered you had Levi by your side, you had gone through countless of life threatening situations with him. You had been on the brink of death with this man an you had survived, he had saved your life more times than you could remember already. Was there anything to be scared of when he was with you? Now that you thought about it, probably not. Maybe Levi had acted a little cold towards you to make you realize this, to make you realize he believed in you. 

At last you reached a tiny room, it wasn't filled with anything in particular. There were no decorations besides the beautiful details on the walls, there were no kinds of furniture either. The entire room was the same shade of brown and grey. Something moved on the ground, for a moment your heart was in your throat until you realized it was nothing more than a peaceful [Tasselled Wobbegong](http://www.georgiaaquarium.org/images/default-source/animals/tasselledwobbe_520.jpg?sfvrsn=4)concealing itself on this ideal place for it.

The boring room was passed since there was only one way to continue your journey into the ruins. Another long hallway was entered and this one felt little eerie somehow. At one point there was a possible turn to the right that led down to a dark room that you couldn't see clearly, shivers ran up your spine but you asked Levi if the two of you should check the place out nevertheless.

"That might be a good idea, we should check everything on our path." He said and you agreed with him. He clicked on his torch and so did you as the two of you descended  into the deep unknown.

* * *

 


	25. Chapter 25

The light coming from the torches on your equipment made everything look even more eerie than it already was. When the first light touched the chamber that was down the stairs a lot of tiny fish darted away, scared of the sudden brightness. Levi was the first to enter and the first to swear like he almost died. 

"Holy fucking shit!" For a moment your heart was stuck in your throat until you heard him sigh and saw for yourself what it was that had scared him. A big Ocean Sunfish swam across the tiny room, and you imagined that seeing such an enormous fish appear in the darkness out of nowhere would scare anyone, even Levi. "That giant fucker scared the shit out of me." Your diving companion said. It was indeed a sunfish like you had never seen before. At the Hole of Trost you had seen one, but it wasn't nearly as big as the one patrolling this room. 

The two of you decided it was best to keep looking around, time didn't wait for anyone. At the end of the room you found a huge stone statue, it seemed to portray an Egyptian figure of some sort. Just like the ones outside of the temple this one was much and much bigger than yourself. It was impressive like everything else in the temple, but something was off about this room.

"This room feels different somehow." You muttered, Levi hummed in agreement.

"We were able to control the mechanism with the Dragon Flute before, why don't we try it again?" Levi said.

"Be my guest." With a hand gesture you motioned him to do the same as before. Levi struggled a bit to get the flute from his kit but eventually he succeeded. 

Like before, the raven-haired diver somewhat waved the flute around through the water. And once again a high pitched sound reverberated through the room. It didn't take long for the temple, dragon, or whatever it was that made the Song of Dragons sound through these hallways, to respond. A deep rumbling sound was heard next, could it be that the currents were altered?

"MZ, how's it going over there?" Not sure if you would get a reply you spoke through the microphone. "Has the current changed?" You tried again after a few seconds, your fear for the worst was coming true. "Hello?" Growing desperate you tried again and again. "Hello? Mike are you okay? This isn't funny! Answer me, Mike!" But Mike too, had disappeared. 

"It's no good, there's no reply." Levi said. "Erwin, can you reach him?"

 _"No, I get no reply. It is as if he disappeared into thin air. Could..... could this be the curse of the Song of Dragons?"_ Erwin said that last part softly, but you had still heard him. 

"Don't say that!" Erwin's words had replaced your fear with anger, how dare he speak like that? It was like he had already given up on finding Mike and Hanji.

"Let's just calm down first." Levi sighed, he knew that if someone didn't keep the peace around here that it would lead to panic. "I don't need you to panic cause panicking makes you stupid, and stupid gets you killed." He said, looking sternly into your eyes. 

"Okay... I'm okay. You're right. Never panic in the water. That's the first rule of diving, right?" As for his response, he only nodded. 

The two of you decided to swim back up to where you came from. It turned out that the hallway you didn't decide to follow earlier was blocked. Rubble and stones had crashed down and the openings that were left were too narrow for anyone to fit through, not to mention that trying to move the stones from their position could cause accidents that none of you would want to get involved in. So with that the two of you headed back to the place where you entered the temple, you came across the room with the Tasselled Wobbegong and turned to swim through the hallway. 

At last you arrived at the chamber where the current had pulled you into at the beginning of your exploration of the temple. Mike had taken the left turn from the two hallways that you could have entered. Levi and you would follow the corridor in the hopes to find him and the professor.

"I wonder if Mike disappeared somewhere around here, the strong current that was keeping us around here has died down so we can get in now. I'm surprised Mike succeeded in doing that..."

"He's no rookie when it comes to diving, I'm sure he found a way." Levi replied and took the lead to swim into the corridor first. Like the one you had taken before, the water here was murky and there was a lot of sand covering the stone ground. Not long after you had entered the hallway it became dark, just to be safe the two of you switched your torches on. 

The sound of the water rumbling around your ears was once reassuring to you, but now it had never been more scary. You thought that you might have even preferred an eerie silence instead of this constant pressure. The hallway seemed to be exactly the same as the one you had taken before this. It had a small room that it led to as well, and now the only way you could continue was to take a left turn. There were no animals to be found in the small room, only the same kind of hieroglyphs and runes you had seen in the other chamber. Not a single word was exchanged between you and Levi this time, but there was nothing to say. You wouldn't solve this with asking questions or making small talk, the only way you would find your friends was through actions and nothing else. 

Now this hallway toot, had small intersection. The same thing as before, you could go straight ahead or down to the left into another dark room in the depths. Levi quickly told you that it was best to check this room out as well, since you never knew where your friends might be hiding out. 

There was no sunfish in this room, although it was packed with [Ribbon Fish](http://celp.net/files/2013/04/Ribbon-Fish.jpeg). Other than that there were more tiny fish than you could count and a few [Atlantic Tarpon](http://www.dive.nl/files/images/_AAT7211.2560*1600.jpg)swam around, doing nothing in particular. Like the previous one, this room also held a huge statue at the end of it. Meters and meters tall. It wasn't particularly interesting so you swam back to the stairs to see if there was anything out of the ordinary that you might have missed. 

"I'm going to play the Dragon Flute again, I'm sure the currents will change again." Levi said and you agreed with him. Again that high pitched sound rang through your ears and the Song of Dragons followed. You were just about to return to Levi until it somehow became harder to swim down. Again you tried, but now you were being pulled backwards and Levi was way out of range to come and help you. 

"Ah no! Levi- Levi I'm being pulled away by the current- shit!" The second Levi had sensed the panic in your voice he snapped his head around to look at you, but the only thing he saw was the last bit of your flipper disappearing behind the stone walls. The strength of the water had pulled you around the corner towards the hallway that you hadn't followed yet, you bumped against the stone walls and called for Levi but there was no response. 

Don't panic in the water, but how could you not at a time like this?

* * *

"Shit, fuck, fuck! Erwin, (First) was dragged away by the current." Levi growled in the microphone on his equipment.

 _"What? She was swept away by the current?! You have to find her Levi, I can't reach her anymore. You're the only one I'm in contact with now."_ The blonde said.

There was no time to waste, Levi knew that. He knew, but now he was getting stressed as well. He failed to protect you, it was the one thing he had sworn to himself to do. And what did he actually know of this god damned place? Nothing. For all he knew you could have been smashed against the stone walls giving you a fatal injury, your kit could have broken down failing to support you, your air tube could have been cut leaving you to suffocate. The raven-haired man tried to chase the negative thoughts out of his head but it was hard.

His breathing had become ragged as he hurried to swim up the stairs and towards the corridor. He looked at his oxygen meter, just a little more than half a tank was left for him. He had to hurry. Levi turned the corner and blindly entered the dark hallway, he didn't care what he would face at this moment. Nothing could scare him more than the thought of you leaving his life. He swam further, until Levi noticed that he didn't have to do anything anymore because he was also getting pulled in by the current.

The murky water blinded him and he was sure all of his senses were piquing, it was like everything around him was slowing down. The adrenaline running through his veins made it seem like he could think twice as fast. His torch lit up the way in front of him but in the distance he could see another light. At first he thought it was you, you couldn't have gotten away so quickly after all since Levi had followed you as soon as he heard your voice, but then another light appeared and another. Questions arose until the currents suddenly stopped and Levi was swung into a room like the ones he had encountered with you while swimming through he corridors.

In his ear a cringe worthy cracking noise sounded through his earpiece, he had to close his eyes to try and endure the sound, it made him blind to whatever was going on around him. When the deafening sound stopped, he heard a familiar voice.

"Levi! Thank goodness, you're okay!" That voice, he would recognize it out of hundreds and thousands. It was you. And when he opened his eyes and looked around he saw that it wasn't just you who was present in the room, Hanji and Mike were there as well. 

"You scared me for a moment." Levi truthfully admitted to you and you just smiled, happy that nothing bad came out of this situation. Inwardly, Levi scolded himself for panicking like he had done. It had been stupid but fortunately it had also been a false alarm. 

"Luckily everyone ended up in the same room, the current ends here. I think we're in a room directly west of the way we came in. We still don't understand how these currents work, but when the Song of Dragons is played, the currents inside the ruins change. However, as the change takes place the currents rage through the corridors, which is how we all ended up here." The professor said, it wasn't hard to understand that the Song of Dragons was what was causing the change in currents but you were grateful for Hanji who put all the information you had in one story. 

"Hm, right. What is it with this room, huh? We can't reach anyone on the radio on the surface and the currents stop us from getting out." Mike mumbled.

"Leaving the currents aside, why do you think the radio isn't getting through? The room doesn't look any different to the others, does it?" You questioned and looked at everyone in the room. 

"It just looks like a room with a statue to me." Levi sighed.

"No, I know I haven't been on the track of the Pacifica Treasure for long. But, as a salvager I know that nothing is just 'how it is', the sea doesn't work that way." Mike said as he scanned the room, swimming towards an [Asian Sheepshead Wrasse](http://creepyanimals.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/asian-sheepshead-wrasse-swimming.jpg). You always found them to look very creepy even though you knew the creatures were harmless and actually very peaceful.

"Sure _'MZ'_ , if you wanna get all poetic that's fine by me." Levi teased him, sarcastically dragging the letters MZ out. Luckily the salvager decided not to be as immature as he normally was and didn't reply. To be honest, Levi was such a child when it came to talking to Mike. 

Like the similar rooms filled with nothing but runes, hieroglyphs and ancient markings, this one also had a giant statue at the end. But it was just slightly different. Unlike the other statues who had just stood normally, all in the same position with nothing in particular standing out, this one had a symbol in its hand. Swimming up to the professor who was inspecting the symbol you asked her what it meant. 

"The statue is holding an Ankh. It is the most commonly used symbol in the ancient Egyptian symbols. The Ankh, which is also known as the 'crux ansata' by Coptic Christians, represents life and immortality. It was also used as the symbol of union between woman and man, particularly the union of Osiris and Isis which was believed to flood the river of the Nile thus bringing fertility to Egypt. That's why the Ankh is also called the Key of the Nile. But Ankhs were also drawn on temple walls often as they were believed to provide divine protection." Hanji said. You could not believe she said all that in almost one single breath. 

"Thank you for your history lesson, really, but what do you think it stands for in here, the Cavern of the Gods?" Levi asked her. For a moment the professor was silent but when she answered it sounded like the answer was very simple.

"I think it is mostly for the divine protection, the Pacifica Treasure is legendary after all and the Okeanides wanted to protect it at all cost. And of course, there is also the connection to the Nile which is connected to the ocean. But if I would give you a short answer; for protection from intruders." She concluded.

"I know what I've seen, heard and been through the last hour, so I take this Ankh is the real deal as well." Mike said, joining the rest of you in front of the statue.

"We have to make sure the currents will stop flowing, so I suggest you use the Dragon Flute once more, Levi." Hanji said.

"I'm with Hanji on this one." You backed her up. Seeing as there wasn't much that Levi could do against all of this, he complied. 

His gloved hand held the odd, deep blue flute and waved it around in the murky water to produce the sound once more. The high pitch of it was beginning to hurt your ears and you hoped it was the last time you'd hear it. As if responding to the sound coming from the flute, the Song of Dragons echoed through the temple. Suddenly, the deep rumbling that could be heard from the raging currents died down and the water was still. You were the first one to inspect if the currents really had died down, and you weren't swept away out of nowhere this time.

"If it's calmed down here, maybe the currents near the entrance have too! Let's go back there and find out." Gesturing for the others to follow you, you made your way down the peaceful corridors to return to the chamber where you had entered the Cavern of the Gods.

* * *

 _"So that's what happened... I thought I would lose my mind when I lost contact with every last one of you. I almost dived into the sea myself."_ Erwin's slightly calmer voice was heard through your earpiece. The way back to the room where this whole drama began was passed without any obstacles, and when you had checked the way out was clear as well.

"I'm sorry, Erwin." Levi apologized on everyone's behalf. 

"Anyway, it is a great relief that we have our escape route cleared, but now? There is still no way forward. Every way we try is a dead end. There must be some way, what do you think?" Hanji asked all of you, not even she had some great logical explanation for all of this.

"Oh! We should read the mural, last time we couldn't since Hanji was swept away by the current before we got a chance to ask her!" You said.

"Of course! We couldn't figure that out earlier, could we. Let's look at that mural again right away!" Mike excitedly said, almost happy to continue this dangerous search. You supposed that a guy like Mike faced these situations a lot even though he seemed like a scaredy cat at first.

Swimming towards the mural where this all started, everyone waited patiently for Hanji to read the murals. She swam up close, sometimes brushed a gloved hand across the wall to make sure she could read the runes easier and at last she backed away, turning towards the three of you to explain what she had found out.

"The Okeanides had some connection with ancient Egypt." The professor started out and she pointed at a bigger figure illustrated on the wall. "This figure here is the sun god Ra. He was a powerful god in the Egyptian pantheon. The gods Osiris, Isis, Nephthys and Set are all his descendants. There's nothing particularly original about the mural, the important part is this verse: 'My descendants must pass through the underworld and reach the hallowed realm to find the treasure. Only the holy metal of Magnesia can open the gate to the underworld.' There is an area in Greece called Magnesia, I'm certain I read that it was famous for naturally magnetic ores. It must be some kind of hint on how to proceed, any thoughts?" 

"Well of course," Mike began, "there must be something we have missed in the areas we have all been to, something that even I have missed. In the search for this place the verses have hinted at hidden ores before, so I'm also pretty certain that we'll need that multi sensor of yours to find the hints." 

"That's... not a bad idea." Levi said, surprising every single one of you. 

* * *

 


	26. Chapter 26

The four of you returned to the room where you had last seen the statue holding the ankh. Since the statue in that room was different from all the others you had seen so far, you and everyone else thought that it must have been some sort of special room. Since the statue and the rest of the room was covered with sand and algae everything had gained the same kind of brown-ish color. Levi turned on the multi sensor and when scanning the statue it didn't detect anything else but stone, that was until Levi pointed the device onto the ankh the statue was holding. The symbol was made out of metal. Levi had put the sensor away and tapped the ankh to see if it was really metal, and to his surprise the symbol could be moved. Although, the man didn't do anything just yet since he had no idea what would happen if he were to turn the ankh.

"So, it's made out of metal and apparently it can be rotated." He said.

"Could it be the holy metal of magnesia? If this is it, then it's no wonder that the radio can't get through to this room. It must be due to the interference caused by the naturally magnetic ore." Hanji stated.

"What you're saying is if we turn this, a secret passage will open?" You said.

"So all we have to do is turn this, right?" Mike gestured towards the ankh. "If all you need is raw power, I'm your man."

"Tch, go ahead and show us what you can do then." Levi scoffed at Mike's smug tone but he didn't insult him, and you thought that it was already better than the way he had acted towards the salvager before. 

Mike swam towards the statue and asked Levi how he had to turn it and Levi answered. "You can just turn it around, not upside down but so that it's in the same position but just facing the other way." He explained. With a grunt Mike managed to turn the ankh around in the stone hand of the statue and just to be safe the salvager created some space between him and the statue, joining the three of you near the entrance of the room. A deep rumbling sound was heard and then it happened.

The wall that the statue was carved out of started to move towards the four of you, but it was only the part where the statue was on, leaving the rest of the wall to remain where it was.

"I am the greatest!" Mike laughed smugly.

"Get off your high horse, _MZ_." Levi sighed and you just shook your head at the two.

As all of you swam around the statue to look what it had revealed, you gasped. A hidden passage that was just small enough for one person to fit through at a time had been underneath the statue this entire time.

" 'My descendants must pass through the underworld and reach the hallowed realm to find the treasure.' I guess that this is supposed to be the underworld, literally." You said, remembering Hanji's translation of the murals you saw earlier. "Who's going in first?" Was what you asked afterwards everyone looked at each other.

"I'll go!" The professor excitedly volunteered. Somehow you hadn't expected it from her, but you could safely say that you were glad you weren't the one going in first. With an excited giggle Hanji dived down and it became harder to make out her form as she entered the darkness.

"Are you alright, Hanji?" You asked, concerned by her lack of response since she was so talkative most of the time.

"Oh- yes, I'm sorry! It's very dark in here and I was looking around for my torch, which I just found! Oh!! Would you look at that, an [Emperor Nautilus](http://palaeo.gly.bris.ac.uk/palaeofiles/fossilgroups/cephalopoda/sub-Nautilus.jpg)! Beautiful! It's swarming with [Pinecone Fish](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/52/Pinecone_fish.jpg)in here. It's safe to come down guys, nothing to worry about!" After hearing her excited chatter about fish you knew she was just fine. One by one you headed down the opening that had been revealed by the moved statue. It was indeed very dark and everyone clicked their torches on, it revealed a rather small room.

"I don't see anything out of the ordinary..." Levi mumbled.

"That's because you haven't looked well enough, Levi. There, in the ceiling." Mike said and pointed his gloved finger up to a place further up the ceiling in the room.

"Hm, not bad." 

"The murals said we had to 'pass through the underworld' so, I guess this is the passage." The rest heard you say through your microphone. Hanji took the lead again and exited the dark room through the equally small opening in the ceiling. As soon as everyone followed you discovered that the passage led to another, very similar room. Another statue with something in its hand.

"So this room looks the same as the other." Levi stated.

 _"How are things going down there? Any progress?"_ Erwin said.

"Yes, we now know that the room where we couldn't be reached by the radio is connected to another room." The professor explained, telling Erwin more about what happened the last ten minutes. 

 _"I see, a secret passage."_ He mumbled. _"Well, you have moved quite a way from the entrance now. Do not be reckless, proceed with caution. I will be waiting for all of you."_

After you all inspected the room more you decided that there was nothing new to see and that it was best to exit the chamber to discover more. Those same stairs up that the other rooms had had were taken and you found out that you had ended up on the other side of the rubble and debris that kept Levi and you from advancing earlier. So, that meant there was an entirely new area to explore as you followed the hallway to the right.

It was quite a bit darker than before and to make sure the torches wouldn't run out of battery all of you had turned them off when you entered the new room earlier. But the darkness wasn't completely dark, it gave a group of very small, extraordinary creatures the chance to shine. 

"Magnificent! [Sea Gooseberries](http://www.seawater.no/fauna/ctenophora/images/IMG2014-5038.jpg)! And on this depth, simply fascinating! They must have made it their home here because of the darkness that never gets disturbed." Hanji exclaimed with a grin on her face.

After swimming ahead for a few meters it became too dark to see clearly so two of you clicked their torches on and the hallway became easy to navigate again. There was one of those similar rooms again with nothing else but murals and a corridor leading to the right. Nothing special was found in that corridor as well and somehow you were starting to lose your hope on finding something new. 

Just as you were about to raise the topic of if there was something new to find here, a new room came in sight. It was identical to the first chamber that everyone was pulled into at the entrance, only there was no way out here and only stairs leading up to a new mural with complicated symbols and paintings. 

"Oi, shitty glasses here's another mural. Translate it for us, will you?" Levi asked rather coldly.

"On my way!" His harsh words didn't seem to harm her in any way as she swam up to where she could read the hieroglyphs with ease. "This wall painting depicts Osiris, the god of the underworld in Egyptian mythology. Now let me see what the rest of the text says... _'To my descendants who seek treasure, you will be tried by the dead ones. The last ray of the sinking sun is the key that opens the gate to the underworld.'_ The sinking sun? It must be another metaphor for something." 

"Egyptians worshipped the sun right? It rises in the east and sets in the west." You commented.

"This meant that the east was linked to life, while the west was the direction of death. It's also the reason why pharaohs' tombs are on the western banks of the Nile river." Hanji finished for you.

"How does this help us?" Mike asked and for a few seconds it seemed that no one could provide him with an answer.

"We should investigate further, there must be something we haven't seen yet." Levi said and everyone else agreed. The four of you scurried off to every little corner of the room, tried to see if there were loose stones in the walls but no one could find a thing. 

"Are you sure there's something else down here?" You questioned.

"There must be, we just have to keep looking!" Levi sounded agitated, it was because he was realizing that there was nothing to be found here as well. 

"Yeah, we'll keep looking until we run out of oxygen." An irritated tone was laced through your voice as you said so. From the corner of your eye you could see Levi glare at you and you knew he was about to say something until Mike interrupted him.

"Guys, before you start fighting, give the glorious salvager MZ some credit for finding this." He spoke and every head turned into his direction. As the three of you swam closer to him you could see that there was a tiny sparkling stone in the west wall of the room. "It can be pushed, shall we?" Mike asked.

"What do we have to lose?" The sentence rolled off your tongue before you could think twice but luckily everyone agreed. Erwin kept quiet this entire time but no one really minded, you were too concentrated on what you were doing. Mike pushed the stone further into the wall and a rumbling sound behind you made everyone turn their attention to the mural. The firm, decorated wall split open like a door and disappeared in the walls next to it.

Without words all of you advanced up the stairs into the newly revealed room, only to find out it was bigger than any of you had expected. Giant decorated pillars reached higher than you could see, big dark colored fish swam around and you guessed they were all of the same kind. The room was huge and due to the murky water you couldn't see the end of it like you couldn't see the ceiling.

"This must be at least ten stories high! Incredible!" Hanji sighed. 

The radio cracked and you figured Erwin was joining the radio signal. _"Hello, this is Erwin. The sonar indicates that you have entered a very large room, at least that's as much as I can see. It also shows that there's another slightly smaller room somewhere above the big space you are in right now."_

"Let's find out what that room is then!" Mike sounded.

As everyone swam around to explore the room you went to look at the fish, they were odd looking and seemed almost dead actually. Hanji noticed you staring at a group of them and halted when she was next to you, looking at the creatures as well.

"They are called [Coelacants](http://vertebrates.si.edu/fishes/coelacanth/indonesia_coelacanth.jpg), they were known as the 'living fossils' of the sea! There are only two known species, they are commonly found in this grey-ish color but sometimes they appear white as well! They're harmless so don't worry about them, let's go look for that room up the ceiling, alright?" The brunette diver said as she put a hand on your shoulder and you nodded at her. 

Levi and Mike didn't speak much as they swam around the room, you felt a little bad for the tension created between you and Levi earlier. You shouldn't have commented on his words said our of irritation, that'd only cause more anger from both sides. But you knew that it was best to focus on the task at hand than to dwell on your boyfriend his mood.

As everyone slowly made it up to the ceiling to prevent themselves from getting in trouble because of the pressure, a large opening in the ceiling of the space came in sight. It was just in between two of the huge pillars that had hieroglyphs carved into their sides. The opening wasn't really special, it didn't reveal anything else but a massive stone door that was similar to the mural that happened to be a door, only this one didn't have any engravings.

"Erwin, we've found this stone door up in an opening in the ceiling of the big room." Levi reported through the radio.

 _"A stone door you say? That does sound interesting, keep investigating. I'm sure that all of your brilliant minds will find out what to do."_ He said.

"It is a magnificent door, indeed! There must be something special in here." Mike concluded.

"Do you think the Pacifica Treasure is in there?" The excitement bubbled up in your being as you said those words.

"Maybe, but how do we open it? There aren't any murals here." Levi replied with a serious tone.

"Clueless, huh? Swim aside, this is my speciality!" A smug laugh left Mike's mouth after he said so.

"Mike, what do you mean?" Hanji questioned.

"Don't tell me you've already forgotten I'm the best salvager in the world? I've seen this kind of thing too many times to count, and it's always down to some hidden mechanism of some sort. And my salvage sense is going to find it! Oh yeah!" MZ said.

"Salvage sense? As in a superpower? Do you seriously think that you have that?" The doubtful question came from your side.

"You bet I do! This is how I get most of my jobs done." He gave you a thumbs up.

"You actually believe that?" Levi deadpanned.

"It's not like we have another option. Let us allow MZ try to find a way." The professor said and everyone agreed.

As Mike swam around the area, you decided to entertain yourself by observing those strange fish down in the giant space below you. You squinted your eyes to get a better look in the dark and then you noticed different, larger forms than the coelacanths swam around. 

"Hey guys, what are those big things swimming around down there? Sharks?" Deciding it was best to make sure everyone noticed them you spoke up. The professor looked down and one of the creatures came closer than before and she immediately recognized the species.

"Those are [Goblin Sharks](https://images.earthtouchnews.com/media/1946347/goblin-shark.png). They are very rare and only found in deep waters. They are not aggressive towards humans, at least that's what I've read." She said. You flinched when one of the sharks jaw seemed to pop out from underneath it's snout as it quickly swam around. 

"They look kind of agitated... Levi, the pulsar!" You stressfully said when the creatures came closer to the opening.

"Buy some time while MZ tries to open the door!" Hanji told him and Levi didn't hesitate a single second. Within a flash the device was in his hands and he swam down in the open space.

"Levi don't be reckless!" You yelled.

"I need to buy time right? That's what I'm doing." He snapped. You could only watch in fear as the two sharks seemed to notice the larger form in the room immediately. He couldn't possibly out swim them, they were too fast. Levi was being incredibly stupid. "That's right ugly fuckers, focus on me." 

The hideous looking creatures advanced towards him and Levi knew he'd have to wait for the pulsar to reload its electromagnetic pulses after he'd subdue one shark alone. One was coming for him from his side, one from the front. The raven-haired diver would have to wait for one of them to swim into range, but which one would it be? He decided to focus on the one heading straight towards him, hoping he'd have enough time to dodge the other one coming from the side when the time came. 

He had to pull the trigger five times before the shark in front of him slowed down and seemed to ignore him. Levi was relieved but when he snapped his head to the side to look at the other shark his breath got stuck in his throat, the creature was just meters from attacking him and Levi hurried to move to the side in time. The shark missed its target but its mighty tail fin delivered a harsh blow to Levi's body. You heard him grunt in pain through the radio and you fought the urge to head down there. 

For a moment it looked like Levi was unconscious, he didn't move a muscle and just drifted down. The shark was already looking for him again, this would end badly. You were going crazy. "Shit, Hanji we can't just let him die down there! He's probably unconscious!" You cried out.

"Calm down, (First). You underestimate him." She pointed down when you still focused your attention on her. When your eyes landed on your loved one you could faintly see him raise his arm to aim at the still confused shark. One, two, three, four, five. The shark slowed all its movements and seemed to forget that it was attacking Levi just a moment ago. Both of the creatures swam away from him, towards the exit of the room. 

"Son of a bitch, that hurts!" You heard Levi's deep voice through the radio and sighed in relief. But you couldn't let go of the fact that he had thrown himself in such a dangerous situation. 

Levi swam up towards the space and you saw him hold his head, it seemed that the fin had hit him there. Angered by what he had done you swam up to him. "You fucking idiot! You could have just approached them from above and you could have subdue'd them without getting their attention." The man in front o you remained silent for a while and stared in your (Eye Color) eyes. 

"Well, maybe I didn't think of that." He admitted and you widened your eyes at him, letting out a breathy laugh.

"I can't believe you just said that." Before he could reply a familiar rumbling sound was heard behind you and you saw Mike floating in front of the stone door that was slowly opening.

"The door is open! You can applaud me now."

* * *


	27. Chapter 27

_"So the door is open? Good job, MZ."_ Erwin commented. " _From the sonar here on board I can see that you are directly in the center of the ruins. There must be something hidden there."_

"We still don't know what's gonna happen yet." You said nervously while also feeling a rush of excitement for the unknown.

"We don't have another choice but to investigate." Levi said and looked at each of you before continuing. "Are you all ready?" 

"Let's go inside!" Mike announced and was the first to enter the unknown room. The only thing you could do was follow the salvager along with everyone else. 

As you entered the new chamber you could not believe what you were seeing. The walls were all filled with hieroglyphs, there was not a single spot that wasn't painted or carved in. In the middle was an odd stone with four handles sticking into the direction of the walls. In between the handles and the walls stood four other statues, you couldn't make out what kind of thing they were supposed to resemble, you were still too overwhelmed by this one of a kind space.

"Just look at this place! It's amazing! It's- It's glorious!" Hanji cackled as she swam towards one of the four walls in particular, she must have seen something that none of you had since she picked it out out of all the things that were present in the room. "There's more of those hieroglyphs form earlier carved by this mural." 

"Can you read them?" Mike asked her.

"Of course I can!" She sounded a little offended but laughed nevertheless, she then cleared her throat and started to talk once again. "It says: 'My children who have journeyed here, Let me tell you all about our race. The Kingdom of the sun that we built was ruined by the aggression of Set's children. We must keep the Queen's Treasure and the dragon whistle from those who hate. We survivors will sink the dragon whistle into the ocean and abandon this land. The singing dragon will watch over the Queen's Treasure as in the ancient pact. My children, if you desire the Queen's Treasure which was buried with her, take the dragon whistle and offer it to the three suns of morning, noon and night. Only then will the singing dragon appear and open the door to the treasure.' The Okeanides left the Pacifica Treasure for their descendants, with the dragon flute acting as a map and also a key."

"But that doesn't tell us what the three suns could be." Levi commented as he swam around to possibly find something.

"There's a sun drawn here! You guys don't even need to ask questions when I already solved it before you could open your mouth!" The salvager smugly said as he pointed at a carved in sun on the right wall that looked similar to the hieroglyphs that were used in the temple to resemble the sun.

"Levi, it's up to you to use the Dragon Flute." Was what you said to him and he agreed, taking the object out of his kit and he made sure that the water would run through the cylinder like object the same way it had before. It created that high pitched familiar tune but after all of you waited for a while, there wasn't much that had occurred.

"...I don't think anything happened. Maybe we should try something else?" But before you could say any more Mike's disturbed voice spoke.

"Guys we have a major problem!" He said when he looked at the entrance that was further up the room behind you. "The Goblin Sharks are back! These things are gruesome- oh holy shit, there's a giant one too?!" 

Mike was right, the goblin sharks that Levi had chased off so bravely before had returned but that wasn't all. Even when you didn't know much about the creatures even you could see that the third one was abnormally large. It seemed that the door was closing just as they entered, but all of you were too shocked to move a muscle to make it to the exit. One of the odd statues started to move back towards the wall where the entrance closed, it sealed the two doors off. Now there was no possible escape for any of you. 

The sharks swam around dangerously and Levi hurried to get the pulsar out of his kit and the Dragon Flute was given to you. "We need to find a way out, and fast!" Levi commanded.

"Hanji, is there anything on those murals that says how we can get out?!" You anxiously said to her. Even Mike quaked in fear, even though he was a scaredy cat of his own it was something else to see a man of his stature to be shaken to the bone.

"No- nothing! Nothing says how we..."

"Hanji?" You said while keeping your eyes on the creatures in the room with you, Levi had used the pulsar on one of the smaller sharks but it didn't have the same effect as before since the sharks couldn't leave the room.

"Th- The Egyptian sun God, Ra, was said to change form at different times of day. He was a scarab in the morning, a falcon by day and a ram by night." The professor said.

"How does that help us?!" Mike exclaimed but Levi interfered with his panicked words.

"Wait, look around the room." Levi ordered and everyone scanned their eyes around the chamber whilst still looking out for the sharks in the room.

"The statues!" You said suddenly. "Each statue has one of the animals that Hanji just mentioned." 

"What do we do with them?" The salvager asked.

"I suppose it's some sort of mechanism to open the door. We've got to figure it out while avoiding these sharks, now that's a challenge!" The professor said.

"Okay, I'll do it." The raven-haired diver said.

"No Levi! Don't be stupid." You told him.

"I'm the only one with a pulsar, do you want to swim right in to all of these sharks that could end your life within seconds?!" He almost yelled.

"No! Levi, your head still hurts doesn't it?" He didn't seem like he had an answer for that, so your words must have been true. "Then Mike and I will do it!"

"Excuse me?" Mike said to you.

"If Levi provides backup from his position he could use the pulsar on the sharks near us while we try to solve this puzzle. If he swims to the ceiling he should be out of sight from the sharks, Hanji is the only one who can read these murals so we can't risk her getting hurt. You're strong Mike and I'm a fairly fast swimmer, we can do this!" The salvager looked you in the eyes with doubt written across his features, for a moment it seemed like he was going to bail on you. 

"It's a good plan, Mike." Levi suddenly admitted. Both you and Mike turned to him in utter bewilderment.

"Fine. Head up then, Levi." At last he agreed.

Still holding the Dragon Flute with you, you stayed close to the wall along with Hanji and Mike while Levi cautiously made his way up to the ceiling. He would calm the three sharks down and then you and Mike would have little time to examine the statues before Levi would have to act again. With three pairs of watchful eyes, Levi felt a little bit pressured but there was no other way than to succeed, make sure the electromagnetic pulses wouldn't go to waste. He started with the abnormally large shark, it took him all of the pulses in the device to calm it. Then he quickly followed with the other two, giving you and Mike a sign that you could head out. 

As fast as you could, you and Mike made your way to the statue of the Scarab. His keen eyes would see even the tiniest of details. As you felt the stone statue with your gloved hands, you couldn't find any markings that would be of use. Mike sunk down to the ground where the statue stood on, he inspected the area until he found what both of you were looking for.

"Here! There's an opening where the first part of the flute fits into, the one that Levi had around his necklace." He said and you quickly but carefully dismantled the first part of the Dragon Flute from the rest before you gave it to Mike who skillfully set it into the opening.

Now you had to make your way to the statue of the falcon, it was on the other side of the room so you had to make your way back quickly before the sharks would shake themselves awake from their calmed state. You were the first to make it to the other side of the room and started to inspect the statue when you heard Mike call out.

"Levi quick!" He yelled and you snapped your head around to see that Mike hastily tried to make a turn that would be impossible for the giant shark to make to avoid its extending jaw. The creature's razor sharp teeth barely missed the salvager before it got subdued by Levi.

"I'm sorry, the pulsar was out for a second!" Levi said but Mike shook it off to join you as soon as possible. You had no idea that you would have lived to see the day where Levi would apologize to Mike, although you could blame it on the heat of the moment.

You found the second opening where the piece that was shaped like a disc fit in, with a little bit of a struggle you tried to push the object in the old opening, it had changed due to erosion over the years of course. But Mike offered to use his unmatched strength and you were sure that you would have never succeeded if it were just you that had to do this.

Looking over you shoulder you saw that Levi subdued one of the sharks from before again, not noticing that the other was heading for him. It was like a repetition of what had just happened. "Levi watch out for the other one!" Hanji beat you to it when she saw the carnivorous animal advance towards the short man. Levi's quick reflexes saved him once again when he subdued the shark just in time.

"Come on, we only have the statue of the Ram to go!" Mike told you and you nodded at him, taking a final glance at the sharks before heading out. With the middle piece of the Dragon Flute tightly clutched into your hand you made it to the statue and gave the object to Mike who had already found the last opening where the piece would fit in. 

Finally you took an anxious glance behind you, you trusted Levi with the pulsar but mother nature could be unpredictable at times. He was the one who had told you not to underestimate the sea after all. Your (Eye Color) eyes widened upon seeing that one of the smaller sharks was making its way towards you. Behind you you heard the 'click' of Mike securing the final piece in the statue but there would be no time to avoid this attack, even with his help.

"It's out again! Shit!" You heard Levi curse at the object in his hands. Just when the terrifying creature was about to extend its jaw towards you, the Song of Dragons resonated throughout the room. The shark stopped with what it was doing and you heard the room rumble.

"The statues are moving! The door, it's opening!" The professor's voice sounded through your earpiece. But the door where you all entered from wasn't the only opening that was made.

Because the statue of the Ram moved away from its place, the walls opened up behind it. Another door was created and you and Mike swam aside to make sure neither of you would get caught up in whatever process was going on. And when a dark figure emerged from the shadows of the newly opened door, you could not believe your eyes.

A whale white like an iceberg entered the room and the sharks swam away as quick as they could and exited through the opening where they came from. The relatively small wale swam across the room, it had an extraordinary look that you hadn't seen anywhere else.

"Is that a whale? It looks like a small Baleen Whale. Pygmy Right Whales are four to five meters long, but that's not this one. An albino Juvenile humpback whale? No, that can't be right either. This may be a species of whale previously unknown to science!" The professor rambled on, a grin forming on her features.

The Song of Dragons resonated through the ruins. "Could the Song of Dragons be this whale's singing?" Mike asked the professor.

"No, listen closely!" She said as everyone gathered together. "It's many whales singing to each other!"

"Then why is the Song of Dragons coming from everywhere at once?" You asked her.

"I got it! It all makes sense now!" Levi suddenly exclaimed. "The Song of Dragons is made up of echoes!" 

"Echoes?" Everyone said at the same time.

"Think about it, all the places where we've heard the Song of Dragons. All of them including these ruins are large enclosed spaces. If a whale sings in a place like that you get these strange reverberations, and that's what they've been calling the Song of Dragons." He explained.

"Is... Is that it?" Mike said, disappointment evident in the tone of his voice.

"There are still some unanswered questions, such as why the song is the same all over the world, but I think the basic theory is sound as well." Hanji said.

"So our big bad ghost turns out to be a little echo? Too bad." Mike chuckled and you tried to punch his arm without touching his diving kit.

"Don't act like you weren't about to shit your pants!" 

"I was definitely not- "

 _"Hello? Hello? Can you hear me?"_ Erwin's voice suddenly cut through on the radio.

"Oh, hi Erwin." You said, to be honest you hadn't even noticed that the connection was bad.

 _"Finally! You are all alright I hope?"_ He asked.

"Fine as we can be." Levi mentioned.

 _"Good, excellent. I can see that there is a room on the other side of the space, one where you can swim down again like the giant chamber where you found this one up the ceiling. I think it's identical to the other. Be careful as you go on!"_ The blonde said and all of you agreed as Levi was the first to swim towards the newly opened door. It was hard to keep Hanji from going to the whale to examine it but you had to move on, there was only a quarter of your oxygen left.

Just as you were about to exit the room you looked down, dozens of the same kind of whales swam around in the vast space! Even different species of dolphins inhabited the area and swam around like they didn't have a care in the world.

"Should we all head down?" You asked Hanji and Levi who also floated above the opening that led to the big chamber beneath you.

"It looks safe to me." Levi said.

"Wait guys!" Mike said and you turned around to see what he was still doing in the room.

"What's wrong?" The professor asked him.

"This thing here in the middle with the handles, it can be turned around!" He said and you and Levi exchanged a curious look.

"Should we take the risk?" You finally said.

"I don't see why not, it's not like there is any mystery solved yet." Levi told you and you mulled over his words before agreeing to it. "Turn the damn thing, Zacharias." 

With a small curse said under the salvager's breath, he turned the small, heavy stone pillar. All three of you headed back to him, knowing that it was best if the four of you wouldn't get separated again. The familiar tune of the Song of Dragons played, but something was off.

"Do you guys think that it sounds weird as well?" Mike said.

"A little out of tune, yes." The professor added. "It sounds just like the complete song you get from the Dragon Flute."

"How do you know what that so- "

"Of course!" Levi interrupted Mike. "These ruins, this entire structure is a sea whistle! Just like the Dragon Flute. That's why it sounds like this. The whale's song is echoing all around us." 

"That's crazy, but it sounds totally possible I guess." You said. Suddenly, various shocks rumbled through the ruins.

"What's that?" Hanji questioned. 

Mike swam towards the edge of the new opening where the whale that was in the room disappeared off to earlier. He just floated there for a second before he spoke up. "The whales, all of them, they've completely went berserk!" 

"What do you mean?" Levi asked him.

"They're head butting the pillars that keep this entire cavern standing! They're gonna bury us alive if they keep this behavior up!" He said.

"It's said that the ancient Okeanides could control dragons, or in this case whales, with flutes. The tones produced by the ruins may be a command of some sort for these whales. The command could also be to open the door to the treasure, which means the Pacifica Treasure may be unveiled this way!" Hanji quickly spoke.

"Are you sure?! It looks like they're trying to bring the pillars down from here!" Mike said. But before anyone could argue any further, the sound stopped, the whales stopped and a new rumbling sound caught the attention from the four of you. The statue of the Falcon moved, in the wall behind it where a big sun was painted, a door opened.

A small room was revealed, and when it became clearer of what was inside, everyone cheered with joy. A huge statue of a sitting woman made out of gold was the only thing you saw. Coins, treasure chests, cups and many more golden objects littered the floor. Even the hieroglyphs on the walls shone as you could see that the walls they were carved out of were also made out of solid gold.

"This is it, the Pacifica Treasure!" You squeaked out of joy.

"We found it... Erwin, we found it!" Levi yelled into his microphone.

 _"Are you serious! Oh, I can't believe it! Kenny would be so proud!"_ The victorious cheer of the man still on the surface of the water was heard.

"Awesome! So all of the legends we have ever head about this, they were all true!" Mike said.

"This is unbelievable! It's a ten meter high statue made out of solid gold! I've never seen or heard anything like this!" Hanji said, observing the statue with curiosity and excitement.

"How much do you think it's worth?" Mike smirked.

"Idiot, you can't put a price to something this culturally and historically significant." Levi remarked.

"But hey, guys. We did it! We found the Pacifica Treasure!" You said to calm them down. Levi wanted to reply to agree with you but he got cut off by the sound of the Song of Dragons. 

"This again?" Mike wondered. "Shit! Do you feel those tremors?" 

"It must be the whales again!" The professor said.

"Fuck, I knew it!" The salvager grumbled.

"What's happening?" You stressed.

"They might still be responding to the mechanism, we have to turn that pillar thing around again!" Levi said and immediately swam back to the pillar, turning the thing around with his inhuman strength for his short stature. 

Everyone waited for the shocks to pass, for the rumbling of the ruins to stop, but no such thing happened. "I'm pretty sure the mechanism broke or whatever when we used it." Was what you said.

"That thing is as old as the pyramids, it's a miracle it was still working at all!" MZ said.

 _"Can... you hear... is...Erwin..."_ The radio cracked.

"Hello? Erwin? The reception is still really bad, shit!" You stressfully exclaimed.

_"Yes... sudden... ...oor quality... kind of... inter...ence"_

"It's because of the tremors. Ugh! Just when we needed the radio!" Hanji sighed in frustration.

_"At this rate... ruins....ay... collapse completely..."_

"Agreed. I estimate that if it continues to suffer such powerful tremors, the entire structure will be destroyed in about..." The professor took a look at her underwater watch. "Ten minutes. If that happens, the sediment the collapse raises will reduce our visibility to zero." 

_"..situation... not good... Hurry.. get out of there!"_

"Wait, wait, wait! What about the treasure?!" Mike suddenly said, his eyes wide.

"Isn't surviving this more important?" Levi countered.

"No! Don't make me leave it here!" He cried out.

"Mike shut up! We need to get out of here or we're going to be buried alive!" You yelled at him, his eyes looked at the golden statue full of desperation but he hung his head and agreed with you.

"We should go back to where we came from." Levi quickly said when everyone was thinking of a way to escape.

"Good thinking, we don't know if there is a way out in the other room, let's get out of here." Hanji said and was the first to swim down into the big chamber. Every single one of you followed her to the exit, upon swimming out of the vast space she turned left but before you could even follow her she was pushed back.

"No! The current is back! Is it because we activated the mechanism? I don't think there's any way we can get back to the entrance from here..." She said, you knew she was panicking which caused her to overthink. But you weren't much calmer than her in the current situation.

"But this is the only corridor that leads out, right?" Levi calmly asked her.

 _"...Levi... go... ...room... opposite side..."_ The radio cracked, the connection was still bad. _"... can reach... from highest point... ...another... room of pillars... that side... that room... ...should be...exit... one of the walls... has to...somewhere... ...there..."_

"He means the other room with the whales that we didn't enter yet! Let's go!" The salvager on your diving team said and even though everyone was stressed out, it was the only option that was left.

In silence the four of you entered the big room again, passing the pillars that were still intact. Slowly you made your way up, trying to swim as fast as possible while avoiding to get hurt because of the water pressure. When you had reached the room Hanji announced that you guys had seven minutes left. It was hard to control your breathing to make sure you didn't waste any oxygen, the stress and the fear were unbearable.

The other room was still in one piece, just like the pillars that were keeping it up although it seemed very unsteady. Levi was the first to reach the ground of the vast space, being the exceptional diver he was. When you neared you immediately noticed it was just like all the other 'doors' you had faced before this. It was a mural that looked like it could be opened.

"Hanji, this structure looks like it can open somehow. Is there anything written on the walls that tells us how to open this thing?" The raven-haired diver asked the brunette.

"They're an exact copy of the first ones we encountered when we entered this place. You know, about the magnesia and so on, the one we solved already. There are different Gods on the left and right pillar but other than that they are identical." The professor explained.

"So what do we do now? Hey, Erwin, can you help us?" You spoke into your microphone but the radio line only cracked and you couldn't hear a thing.

"It's no good, the signal is getting even worse!" Mike said.

"Oh no... what can we do?" You breathlessly said.

The radio signal cracked again, sending a painful beep through your earpiece.

_"...find...Set..."_

"Wait, what? Erwin?!" Levi said in his microphone.

_"Set....killed his mother...childbirth... ...god of darkness... Okeanides empire...ruined... ...by the people of Set... ...door of the sun...must... ...open...by Set..."_

"I know what he means!" Hanji said. "There, next to the side where the different God is drawn. It's Set, there's a crack in the wall. But we have to be quick, we have three minutes left!" 

"She's right!" You said when you swam closer for inspection. "I can see the device but the opening is too narrow for me to reach." Again the radio cracked.

_"Levi... you... ...push it... careful..."_

"Erwin... It's okay, I hear you!" Levi said with a serious tone laced through his voice. He carefully reached through the crack in the wall with his slender fingers and he struggled as the device was within reach, it was just a tiny button he had to push. "For fuck's sake!" He cursed and strained himself a little more, and just like that you could hear the now familiar rumbling of a stone door being opened.

"The door opened, let's go!" Mike cheered and as the four of you swam to exit the Cavern of the Gods, Erwin kept on speaking.

 _"Well... done... Levi... I...am...s...pro..d...of....you........."_ The line went dead but it was okay since everyone had made it out safely. 

Just when you had exited the Cavern of the Gods along with everyone else, you heard the deep thumping sound of large boulders falling on the ground into the sea. When you all had exited the tiny tunnel that lead to the space where you had found the Cavern of the Gods, you made sure to head towards the boat as quick as possible. The Song of Dragons wasn't heard again, probably because the ruins were sealed once again.

* * *

"Thank goodness you are safe! I was so worried!" Erwin said after he had hugged all of you, not caring that his dress shirt got wet in the process.

"Erwin, it was all thanks to you telling us how to get out!" Levi said, and you could say that the corners of his lips tugged upwards just a tiny bit.

"If I had lost all of you...all the treasure in the world would mean nothing. But you are safe, that is all that matters." Erwin gently smiled.

"You showed me a whole new side of you, old man. And just when we needed it!" Mike smiled and Hanji went to back him up.

"Without your knowledge of Egyptian mythology, we could never have solved the riddle for the final door." She said and Erwin's face suddenly fell.

"What are you talking about? I was unable to reach you for so long, I thought I was going to lose my mind! I spent all that time imagining the worst!" The blonde man said.

"What? But then... who was talking to us?" You asked, this whole situation turning quite grim all of the sudden. (Eye Color) eyes found steel grey ones. "Do you think it could have been...?"

"Kenny? Who knows. But we've seen some unexplainable things because of this legend, this could have been something of the likes. But we made his dream come true, we finally found the Pacifica Treasure. He didn't die for something that didn't exist. Well, wherever he is..." Levi trailed off.

"What are you saying? You sound like you think we have nothing more to do. There is still far, far more that we must accomplish, Levi! Do you think the five of us will be satisfied just knowing that the Pacifica Treasure exists? We must let the whole world know about this treasure that your uncle sought." Erwin said to him.

"You said it! We're not done here yet! Now that we found it, we need to salvage it to make good money." MZ chuckled and crossed his arms.

"There are also many mysteries that we have not yet solved in that place. My scientist intuition tells me that what we find there could rewrite human history." Professor Zoë grinned.

"You guys..." Levi hung his head to cover the tiniest of smiles that adorned his features.

"So, that means we can all stay together a little while longer?" You mused.

"Yeah." The raven-haired man said next to you, gently taking a hold of your hand as he looked at you. You looked back at him, beautiful rays of the rising sun hitting his features like it was meant to fall on his perfect face the way it did. Although he still looked emotionless as ever, you knew he was far from it, especially when you looked in his eyes. In his eyes, you could see everything he had been through up till now, you could see a future.

And so a new day began for S&A Diving Service, 

The Endless Ocean surely held even more adventures than they could ever imagine.

* * *

 

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: The idea of the storyline does not belong to me, it does to the developers of Endless Ocean 2.


End file.
